


Reunion

by TenaciousGoldfish



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Sex, Drunk Sex, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Humanstuck, M/M, Minor Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Misgendering, No Transphobia, Nonbinary Karkat Vantas, Oral Sex, Other, Penis In Vagina Sex, Pregnancy Scares, Suicidal Thoughts, Trans Karkat Vantas, Underage Drinking, i'm not here for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 57,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28026153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenaciousGoldfish/pseuds/TenaciousGoldfish
Summary: Your name is Karkat Vantas and you thought you'd never see him again. You've never been so happy to be wrong.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Past Jade Harley/Dave Strider
Comments: 93
Kudos: 120





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The plan is to post a chapter a day. Lets see if that happens.

Your name is Karkat Vantas and when you were eight years old you met your best friend.

You were sitting alone at recess (like always) reading a book of fairy tales. You loved them. You loved the magic and adventure, but most of all you loved the romance. You were enchanted by the idea of true love and Prince Charming. You dreamt of the day your knight in shining armour would come along and sweep you off your feet.

You were reading _Sleeping Beauty_ for the hundredth time when your view of the page was suddenly obstructed by a dandelion. Looking up you saw a boy you didn’t know holding the dandelion out to you, looking extremely uncomfortable. He was blushing furiously and shuffling his feet. He was also wearing the stupidest pair of sunglasses you had ever seen.

Unsure of what to do you just stared at him, baffled.

The boy nervously swallowed before saying, “It’s for you,” in a shy, quiet voice.

You looked back down at the dandelion, a blush of your own rising to your cheeks. “Thanks,” you said, taking the little flower.

You had no idea who this kid was or why he gave you a dandelion, but you _did_ know that boys gave girls they liked flowers. Was that what this was? Did he like you? Why?

You were pulled out of your thoughts when the boy stuck his hand out towards you, “I’m Dave,” he said, still appearing very nervous.

“I’m Karkat,” you said, taking his extended hand.

The boy- Dave- smiled for a split second before covering it up with a more neutral expression. Weird. “Cool name. Wanna be friends?”

 _Cool name?_ Nobody ever thought your name was cool. It was weird, unusual, not at all cool. But Dave thought it was.

You smiled up at him, “Yeah.”

At the end of the day, when your dad came to pick you up from school, he asked you how your day was. “Good,” you said, “I met the man I’m going to marry today.”

-

Your name is Karkat Vantas and when you were nine years old you had your first sleepover ever.

You were so excited you couldn’t hold still. You stood at the front door, bouncing on the balls of your feet while you waited for Dave to show up. You had the whole evening planned; what you’d watch, what games you’d play, what you’d eat, everything. All you needed was for Dave to show up.

When the doorbell finally rang you whipped the door open so fast it banged into the wall, startling Dave on the other side. “Holy shit, dude,” He said in the monotone way of his. Behind him stood a guy who looked like a teenage Dave, right down to the stupid shades.

“Uh, hi,” you said, feeling slightly embarrassed by your overzealous welcome.

You felt a heavy hand drop onto your shoulder and heard your father cheerily say, “Hey, Dave. Come on in, kiddo.”

Before Dave could respond you grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. “This is going to be so great, I have everything figured out,” you said excitedly.

While you rattled off your plans for the evening, you could hear your dad say to the boy who dropped Dave off, “I was expecting to meet one of Dave’s parents, were they unavailable?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” The boy said, “Our bro is busy. I’m Dave’s other brother, Dirk.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Dirk,” your dad said, extending a hand for Dirk to shake. “I’m Karkat’s dad, Silas.”

“Uh. Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Dirk said, shaking your dad’s hand.

Dave talked about his older brothers all the time and how cool they were, but Dirk didn’t seem all that cool to you. He looked like kind of a nerd actually. Tall and lanky and wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit.

“See you, kid. Be good,” Dirk said and with a nod from Dave he turned and walked back down the driveway.

A soon as he’d left you dragged Dave into your room by the hand. “I picked out a bunch of movies for tonight _and_ ,” you said, feeling slightly smug, “We can watch them in here.” You pointed to the old CRT on your dresser.

“Since when do you have a T.V in your room?” Dave asked, sounding a little jealous.

“Since yesterday,” you said proudly, “We got a new one and my dad let me keep the old one. It doesn’t have cable though so I can only watch DVDs on it, but whatever.”

“Lucky,” Dave mumbled, definitely jealous.

You shrugged, “What do you want to watch first?” Still holding Dave’s hand, you pulled him over to sit down on your bed with you. On your bed was the stack of DVDs you had picked out. Dave shifted through your selection and said, “All of these are either romantic comedies or Disney princess movies.”

“Yeah, and?” You asked, defensive.

“Just making an observation,” Dave said, trying and failing to keep himself from smiling. “You pick, I’ll watch whatever.”

You eyed him suspiciously before picking up the box for _The Little Mermaid_. You slid off your bed and popped the DVD into the player.

“Huh,” Dave said, “I’ve never actually seen this one.”

You spun around to face him, “What?! Really?! How? How have you lived for nine years on this planet and never seen the greatest Disney movie of all time?” Disbelief plain on your face and in your voice.

Dave shrugged, “We don’t own it. I don’t think we own any Disney movies actually.” He said it so casually, as if it wasn’t the most unbelievable thing you’d ever heard.

“Does that mean you haven’t seen any Disney movies then?” You asked. You assumed his reaction would be something like ‘of course I’ve seen Disney movies, who hasn’t?’ but he just looked kind of uncomfortable and shrugged again. “Unacceptable!” you exclaimed, “change of plans, were having a Disney movie marathon.”

Dave smiled a tiny bit at that. “We’re doing this,” he said, referencing his stupid comic.

“We’re making this happen,” you replied rolling your eyes

And you did. After _The Little Mermaid-_ which Dave talked all the way through no matter how many times you told him to shut up- you watched _Aladdin_ , which Dave seemed to enjoy a bit more. Next up was _Beauty and The Beast,_ but before you could start it your dad called the two of you out for dinner. Your older brother, Kankri, was already at the table.

“Hello, David,” he said. You could tell Kankri didn’t like Dave very much, probably because Dave wasn’t obnoxiously polite like he was.

“Yo,” Dave replied.

Kankri huffed slightly at that which made Dave smirk. He really seemed to enjoy annoying Kankri. You didn’t blame him, you liked to annoy Kankri too.

Your dad came over then, wearing oven mitts and carrying a glass dish. “Hope you like lasagna!” He said with a wide smile on his face. Your dad was a massive bear of a man, but it was pretty hard to be intimidated by him when he was grinning and wearing a matching pink apron/oven mitts combo. He was so embarrassing.

Your dad dished out lasagna for everyone, closed his eyes, bowed his head, and started saying grace. Kankri automatically followed suit, and Dave looked from them to you seeming thoroughly confused. You nodded at him and bowed your head too, hoping Dave would understand that to mean that he should as well. Looking up you saw that Dave had followed along.

“Okay!” Your dad exclaimed, clapping his huge hands together once he finished saying grace, making Dave jump. “Whoops, sorry, kiddo. Didn’t mean to scare you,” your dad said.

“It’s fine,” Dave said, blushing slightly. You had noticed that Dave was easily startled, you didn’t really bother to wonder why though. He was just a jumpy guy.

All through dinner your dad was focused on Dave. They had met before when Dave would come over after school, but they had never really spoken before. Your dad took the opportunity to ask questions about school, his family, his hobbies, all of which Dave gave vague answers to. You were used to how cagey he was, but your dad seemed confused by it. He would keep trying to get Dave to clarify and elaborate, but Dave expertly dodged all of his attempts. Your dad eventually seemed to give up and moved on to asking Kankri about his day and what he was up to. 

After dinner you and Dave headed back to your room to pick up your movie marathon where you had left off. “Does your dad like me?” Dave asked five minutes into _Beauty and The Beast._ You turned and looked at him, surprised by the question but Dave seemed genuinely concerned.

“Of course he likes you. Why wouldn’t he?” you asked. _You_ loved Dave, he was your best friend in the world, you couldn’t imagine why your dad wouldn’t like him.

Dave shrugged, “I don’t know. I didn’t really answer any of your dad’s questions and he seemed kinda annoyed.” While he spoke, he looked down at his hands, fiddling with the edge of your blanket.

“He wasn’t annoyed,” you said confidently, “you would know without a shadow of a doubt if he was. My dad isn’t very subtle. If anything, he was a little confused. He likes you fine.”

“’Kay,” Dave said, not taking his eyes off your blanket, “He’s cool, I want him to like me.” You could tell saying that made Dave feel awkward, so you laughed and said, “My dad isn’t cool _at all_ , he’s a total dork, but don’t worry he likes you.”

“Your brother definitely doesn’t like me,” Dave said with an amused smirk, “I don’t know how broken up I am about that though.”

You laughed again, “Yeah, fuck that guy.”

Dave gasped dramatically, “Karkat! An F-bomb? In my good, Christian neighbourhood? Watch your fucking language. What would your father say?”

“Oh, shut up Dave. Like you don’t swear in every sentence that comes out of your vulgar mouth,” you said, starting to pout.

“Lies, blasphemy, slander,” Dave said, openly smiling for once.

“Wipe that smile off your face,” you said, unable to supress your growing grin. He smiled even wider then, teasing you, so you reached out and squished Dave’s cheeks between your hands. He laughed, the sound muffled by his squished in cheeks. He then pinched your cheeks between his index finger and thumb in retaliation. You both laughed at how ridiculous the other looked.

“Let go of my face, asshole,” You said through your laughter.

“You let go,” Dave said between laughs, “you started this.”

“Fine, at the same time then. On three. One, two, _three!”_ You removed your hands from the sides of Dave’s face, but his fingers remained on your cheeks. He grinned a shit eating grin. You gasped, “Traitor!”

“Traitor?” He asked, batting away your hands when you tried to smoosh his face again, “last I checked I never agreed to let go on three. But, because I am a kind and magnanimous man, I will let you go anyway.” And with that he released your cheeks.

“Kind and magnanimous my ass,” you grumbled, rubbing your sore cheeks. “Crap, Belle is already at the castle. We need to start the movie over.”

After two more movies and three warnings from your dad that you needed to go to bed, you finally gave in. You went to the bathroom to get into your P.Js while Dave stayed in your room to change into his. When you came back into the room Dave gave you a funny look which he immediately covered up. “What?” You asked, looking down at yourself to see if you looked weird.

“You really like Disney, huh?” He asked, sounding amused.

Sure enough, you were wearing your pink Disney princess pyjamas. “Shut up, like your P.Js are any better. And Disney movies are great, which you should know now that you’ve seen some.”

Dave shrugged, “They’re bearable .”

You scoffed as you climbed into bed, “Whatever.”

While you shuffled around pillows Dave lied down on the floor. You leaned over the side of your bed, looking down at him, “What are you doing? Get up here.”

Dave seemed surprised, “With you?” he asked.

“No, with the easter bunny. Yes, with me, you big goof,” You said, scooting over to make room for Dave. He thought for a moment before getting up and lying next to you.

“This is weird,” he said towards the ceiling.

“No, it isn’t. Haven’t you ever shared a bed with someone before? I have to sleep with Kankri whenever we stay at hotels.”

“I used to sleep in Dirk’s bed sometimes when I was really little,” he said.

“See? Not weird. Now go to sleep,” you said, curling up on your side. Dave continued to lie on his back though, not even taking off his shades. “Aren’t you going to take these off?” You asked, tapping the arm of his shades.

“Bro says I’m not supposed to take them off around other people,” Dave said, sounding a little nervous about telling you.

You furrowed your brow at that. Why would Dave’s brother have a problem with him taking off his sunglasses? That makes no sense. “Why?” You asked.

Dave shrugged again, “It’s a Strider thing.”

“Well, that’s not a very good reason,” you said, still confused. “Your Bro isn’t here, though, so if you wanted to take off your shades so you could sleep, he’d never know, right? I wouldn’t tell anyone.” You had never seen Dave without his shades before. You always assumed he wore them because he was a nerd and he thought they made him look cool. You didn’t know he wasn’t actually _allowed_ to take them off. That didn’t seem right to you.

Dave hesitated, “I’m really not supposed to…”

“Do you want to?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t want to sleep with these on my face.”

“Then go for it.”

Dave thought about it for a moment before saying, “You better not make fun of me or I swear.” With that he reached up and took his shades off. His eyes were closed when he removed them. He rolled over and placed them on your nightstand before turning back to look at you. It was hard to tell in the low light coming from your nightlight, but it looked like his eyes were red. You understood then why he kept them hidden.

The longer you went without saying anything the more uncomfortable Dave became. You snapped out of it when you saw Dave start to reach for his shades again. You put a hand on his cheek and turned his face back to you. “They’re pretty,” you said.

Dave blushed, “They’re really not.”

“They are! Red is my favourite colour,” you said lamely. It had never been before, but when you said it you realized it was true.

Dave blushed even deeper, “Mine too,” he said quietly.

After your sleepover you became a staunch defender of Dave’s shades. Whenever kids tried to bully him for them, which was often, you would be up in arms telling them to fuck off. You got in trouble and more calls home than you could count, but it was worth it. You wouldn’t let anyone mess with your best friend, especially not for something he didn’t have any say over.

-

Your name is Karkat Vantas and when you were ten years old you cut your hair.

You were waiting for Dave after school, like always, when a group of kids you knew (and hated) spotted you. You knew immediately that they were going to mess with you. They never did anything when Dave was around to defend you, but when you were on your own it was open season.

“Hey, Karkat!” The leader of the group, Vriska, shouted as she made a B-line for you. “Where’s your little friend? Did he finally realize what a loser you are and ditched you?”

“Leave me alone, Vriska,” you said with a sigh. You knew she wouldn’t, but it was worth a shot.

“Why would I do that? We’re just having a friendly chat, aren’t we? There’s no need to be rude, you little brat,” she said, contradicting herself.

You took a deep breath. She wanted to rile you up, so you needed to stay calm. Plus, your dad said that if he gets one more call from the school about your behaviour you would be grounded for a week.

“What, are you ignoring me now?” Vriska said, “That’s not very nice. Here I am, going out of my way to strike up a conversation with you and you’re just blowing me off.”

You didn’t say anything, pretending she didn’t exist. Vriska had a talent for twisting everything you said, so you just wouldn’t give her anything to work with. But there was nothing Vriska hated more than being ignored.

“Pay attention, bitch!” Vriska yelled, grabbing a fistful of your hair and forcing you to face her. You screamed out in pain, grabbing at Vriska’s hand, trying to get her to to stop pulling your hair.

The other kids in Vriska’s group seemed surprised by her actions but did nothing to stop her.

Just when you had started to cry, begging Vriska to let you go, you saw a blur and then felt another sharp tug on your hair, making you scream again. Through your tears you saw Dave standing over Vriska, who was on the ground, holding her face while blood gushed out of her nose.

“I’ll fucking kill you, Strider!” She screamed as she started to cry. Before she could retaliate though, the other kids in her group hauled her up and dragged her away, saying, “Oh, shit its Ms. Paint! Let’s go before she sees us!”

At that Dave grabbed your hand and dragged you away too while tears continued to stream down your face. Once you were safely out of sight of the school Dave stopped and turned to look at you. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“No!” You said, still sobbing. “I hate her! I fucking hate her! And I hate my stupid hair! I want to cut it all off!”

Dave was looking at you, concern plain on his face. “We can do that,” he said.

“What?” You asked, “My dad would kill me.”

“Just say it was my fault. Say I cut It as a prank or something,” he said, completely serious.

“I can’t throw you under the bus like that, Dave. I’ll tell him I did it. It’ll be fine,” you insisted. You wanted your hair gone, but not if it meant Dave would get in trouble for something you did.

Dave didn’t seem completely on board, but he followed after you as you headed home anyway, tagging along as usual.

When you got home you went straight to the kitchen to grab your scissors. Kankri’s school let out an hour later than yours and your dad wouldn’t be home until 6PM, giving you plenty of time to cut your hair without anyone stopping you.

You marched into the bathroom, scissors in hand and ready to cut. Dave came in after you, asking, “Are you sure you want to do this? You have really long hair, it would take forever to grow back.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” you said, cutting off a huge chunk of hair, right at the front of your head, before you could chicken out. Long black hair fell to the floor around you.

“Shit, dude,” Dave said beside you, “That was a lot.”

“Yeah, that’s the point,” you said snippily, cutting more and more hair.

Dave seemed nervous, fidgeting beside you. You ignored him, focusing instead on trying to get the cut even. You didn’t do a very good job, but it was gone and that was all you cared about at the moment.

You were struggling to reach the hair at the back of your head, so Dave stepped up and said, “Give me those,” his hand out for the scissors. You passed them to him and he moved behind you, picking up where you left off.

Before you knew it, your hair was entirely cropped, and the bathroom floor was almost completely covered in your discarded hair. Looking at yourself in the mirror you were surprised to find that you liked what you saw. It wasn’t the best haircut in the world, not even close, but you liked it. It felt right. Much better than your long, heavy hair ever did.

You turned your head to see the other sides and smiled. In the mirror you saw Dave visibly relax. “You don’t hate and/or regret it then?” He asked, still sounding a little nervous.

‘Nope,” you said, “I actually really like it.”

He returned your smile then. But then you heard the front door open, and Dave tensed right back up. “I thought you said nobody was supposed to be home for at least another half an hour?” Dave said in a strained whisper.

“They weren’t!” You whispered back, starting to freak out.

“Kar? Are you home?” Your dad asked.

“Why is he back so early?” You asked in a panicked whisper, “I’m not ready yet!”

Just then a loud knock against the bathroom door startled a squeak out of you. “Are you in there Kar?” Your dad asked, sounding concerned, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” You yelled back through the door, “Just give me a minute.” You sounded panicked and you knew your dad could hear it too. Taking a deep breath, you opened the door.

Your dad’s face when slack when he saw you. “Karkat,” he said, shocked, “What did you do?”

You were in absolute panic mode now. You opened your mouth to respond, but you couldn’t make a sound. Dave stepped around you then, “It’s my fault, sir. I got gum in Karkat’s hair by accident and she had to cut it. If you want to be mad at anyone, you should be mad at me.”

You stared at Dave, wide eyed, still unable to bring yourself to say anything.

Your dad deflated a bit. “I’m not mad, son,” he said to Dave. Turning to you he said “I just wish you would have waited until I got home before you did anything. I could have taken you to a hairdresser to get it done.”

“You’re not mad?” You asked, finally managing to speak.

“No,” he said, “Everyone gets gum stuck in their hair at some point in their life.” Turning back to Dave he said, “That was very brave of you, Dave. You’re a good kid.”

You and Dave were both shocked and confused. Neither of you were expecting that.

After cleaning up the mess of your hair, you and Dave retreated to your room. As soon as you shut your door both you and Dave took massive sighs of relief. “I was not expecting that,” you said.

“No kidding. I thought your dad would kill us both.” Dave said, pressing a hand to his chest. “He wasn’t even mad, what was up with that?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth,” you said flopping down on your bed.

“What a weird saying,” Dave said, sitting beside you.

“I know right,” you said. You suddenly turned to Dave poking him in the chest with an accusatory finger, “What did I saw about not throwing you under the bus though!”

Dave stuck his hands in the air, “You said _you_ wouldn’t throw me under the bus, and you didn’t, I did. I didn’t break any agreement.”

You let your finger fall. “You’re too nice,” you said resting your newly shorn head on Dave’s shoulder.

You could feel more than hear Dave chuckle. “I don’t know about that,” he said, patting your head, “That feels so weird.”

“Well, get used to it, I like it.”

-

Your name is Karkat Vantas and when you were eleven years old you got suspended.

You were hanging out in the hall with Dave between classes when Vriska showed her smug face again. Ever since Dave broke her nose defending you, he’d been at the very top of her shit list. Unfortunately, you didn’t spot her in time.

She somehow managed to sneak up behind Dave without him noticing her, reached around his head, and took his shades. Dave immediately closed his eyes and covered his face with an arm.

“Ha!” Vriska exclaimed victoriously, “Not so cool without your shades, now are you, Strider?”

You stepped around Dave and stuck out a hand for the shades. “Give them back, Vriska,” you said, trying your best to be intimidating.

It obviously didn’t work because Vriska laughed and said “Oh, I’m soooooooo scared, what are you going to do? Cry on me?”

“If you don’t give them back right the fuck now, I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll taste my shoes,” you said, barely managing to contain your rage.

Vriska laughed again, “How pathetic, you really need _Karkat Vantas,_ of all people, to fight your battles for you, Strider?”

You could tell that got to Dave a bit, but you knew just as well as he did that he wouldn’t be able to do anything without opening his eyes.

“Honestly!” Vriska continued, “I know you’re a scrawny little weakling, but I had no idea were this pitiful.”

“I’m warning you Vriska, give his shades back _right now_ ,” you said through clenched teeth, your hands balled into fists, nailing biting into your palms. You were almost afraid of what you’d do if Vriska kept this up.

“Shut up, Vantas, this isn’t about you,” Vriska snapped, “This is between me and Strider.” With that she pushed you aside and stepped up to Dave. “God, what a pussy, not even trying to defend yourself. Covering your face like that, what’s wrong with you?” She spat the words at him. Dave still didn’t respond, he just stood stock still with his arm over his eyes.

“Answer me!” Vriska yelled.

Fed up with waiting for Dave to respond, she reached out to push Dave’s arm down herself. Blinded by rage you grabbed her by the hair at the back of her head and pulled. Hard. Hard enough that she was pulled backwards, falling to the ground with a scream.

You felt a sick sort of satisfaction at that, enjoying Vriska suffering the same way she made you suffer. You were horrified by that for a moment, before snapping yourself out of it and picking up Dave’s shade from where Vriska had dropped them.

You grabbed Dave’s hand then, dragging him through the halls, still silent, still unable to see. You ended up in a seldom used stairwell. You replaced your hand in Dave’s with his shades. He immediately put them back on and sank to the floor, hiding his face against his knees. You sat down across from him and asked, “Dave? Are you alright?” In a quiet voice.

Dave shook his head, still not speaking.

You didn’t know what to do. You’d never seen Dave get quiet like this before. It’s usually impossible to get him to shut up.

After a moment of more silence you heard Dave say, in a tiny voice, “She’s right.”

“Fuck that, Vriska’s never been right about anything,” you said. You couldn’t believe you heard those words come out of Dave’s mouth.

“No,” he said, “she was. I really am pathetic.” You could tell now that Dave was crying. It made your heart hurt in a way you’d never felt before. “I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t even tell her to fuck off. God, what is _wrong_ with me?” He said, sounding miserable.

“Nothing is wrong with you, Dave. Vriska is the one with something wrong with her.”

He shook his head against his knees, “No, I should be able to defend myself. Such a shitty excuse for a Strider.”

“Dave,” you said, taking his hands from where they were resting on his legs, startling him slightly, “You aren’t a shitty anything. How you reacted wasn’t your fault. She caught you off guard,” you said pleadingly. You needed him to believe there was nothing wrong with him. It was breaking your heart to see him like this.

“That’s exactly the problem!” He said miserably, “She caught me off guard! It shouldn’t be so easy for people to get the jump on me! Fuck, if Bro saw that… I don’t even want to _think_ about that.”

That set off alarm bells to you, but you ignored them for the time being. “You’re only human, Dave. Cut yourself some slack.”

Before Dave could respond the door to the stairwell opened. You both looked up in alarm, seeing a very disappointed Ms. Paint. “Come with me, Miss Vantas. We’ve already called your father.”

Your heart clenched. _Oh, shit. You’re so screwed._

You let go of Dave’s hands and stood up, dreading what would come next. Dave looked at you helplessly, clearly feeling guilty. “It’s okay, Dave. Don’t worry.”

“Go to class, Mister Strider,” Ms. Paint said before turning to you, “Follow me, please.”

You did as you were told, dragging your feet as you followed her to the office. As you were entering Vriska was leaving, glaring daggers at you. Ms. Paint escorted you to the principal’s door and gestured for you to go in.

Opening the door, you saw your principal sitting at his desk, his fingers steepled together. “Have a seat, Miss Vantas.”

You did, feeling very small, and very nervous.

“So,” he said, “I’m sure you know what this is about.”

You nodded.

“According to Miss Serket you assaulted her for no apparent reason-“

You opened your mouth to protest, but the principal raised a hand, silencing you.

“As I was saying,” he continued, “Miss Serket alleged that you had no reason for what you did, but based on her history, we suspect that wasn’t actually the case. Would you care to tell me your side of the story?”

You immediately started to cry, blubbering about how she was picking on Dave, like always, and how she stole his shades, but he needs them, and he froze, and she was going to grab him and-and-and- You were sobbing so hard you couldn’t get anymore out. You just sat and cried.

The principal sighed. “Take a breath, Karkat. I understand,” he said. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. You still harmed another student, even if it was in the defense of another. I’m sorry, but you’re suspended for three days. Your father has already been informed. He’s on his way to pick you up.”

You stared at him, open mouthed, in disbelief.

“If its any consolation, Vriska has been suspended for a week for starting the fight.”

That did make you feel a little better. You were still devastated about being suspended though. You had never been suspended before. You got in trouble plenty, but never this badly.

You sulked out of the office to wait for your dad. As soon as you rounded the corner Dave ran up to you, “Dude, what happened? Are you okay?”

You weren’t surprised Dave skipped class to wait for you. You were a little pleased though.

“I got suspended,” you said, trying not to cry again.

“What?” He said, shocked, “No way, that’s such bullshit. Don’t they know what happened?”

“Yeah,” you said, “Vriska got suspended too.”

“Thank fuck for that, but you shouldn’t have gotten suspended! Man, fuck that.”

“She got suspended for longer at least.”

Dave crossed his arms and made a rare display of open annoyance.

”Come on,” you said, hooking your arm through his, “My dad is coming to pick me up.”

You dragged a very grumpy Dave outside and to the pick-up lane of the parking lot. He didn’t uncross his arms the entire time you waited.

When your dad’s car finally pulled up your nerves came back with a vengeance. You took a deep breath and slid your arm out of Dave’s and stepped up to the driver’s side window of your car. Your dad’s window was down, and he was looking at you through it, disappointment clear on his face.

You opened your mouth to try and explain, but before you could, your dad cut you off, saying “Save it, Karkat.”

You let your head drop, not wanting your dad to see you cry.

“Um, sir?” Dave said, stepping up to the car, “Please don’t be too mad at Karkat. She was just trying to protect me.”

You didn’t look up, but you could hear your dad sigh. “What happened?” He asked, sounding exasperated.

“A girl we go to school with who picks on us all the time stole my glasses and Karkat was just trying to get her to give them back. She didn’t mean to hurt her.”

Your dad sighed again and said, “Thank you for telling me, Dave.” He sounded calm which was a good sign. “Come on, Karkat. Let’s go.”

You said bye to Dave and got into the backseat of the car. 

Your dad drove in silence for a couple of minutes before saying, “Why didn’t you tell me you had problems with bullies at school?” In a compassionate tone of voice.

You shrugged, even though your dad couldn’t see you. “It’s just Vriska. And she usually goes after Dave more than me.”

“Do you know why?” He asked.

“Vriska’s just mean,” you said, not wanting to tell your dad about the time Dave broke her nose.

You dad hummed thoughtfully. “Even though I don’t condone violence, which you know,” he said pointedly, “I am proud of you for standing up for your friend.”

“Are you mad?” You asked quietly. You had a bad enough day as it was, you didn’t want your dad to be mad at you on top of it all.

“No,” he said, “I’m not. A little disappointed, a little worried, and a little proud, but not mad.”

You could live with that.

-

Your name is Karkat Vantas and when you were twelve years old you realized something was wrong. 

You were in your room with Dave, sitting on the floor, having fun and being stupid together. You were playing Mario Kart and laughing your asses off at how terrible you both were. You were both vying for 11th place, just wanting to beat each other since you had no hope of beating the NPCs. You were neck and neck; it was anyone’s game.

“I’m gonna getcha,” Dave said, tailing you.

“No, you’re not, fuck off,” You said, trying to shake him off, “Oh my god, Dave, fuck off!”

Dave laughed, “Nah, I like it here, I think I’ll stick around for a while. Sticking to you like stink on shit.”

“You’re so gross,” you said, rolling your eyes.

In a brilliant stoke of luck Dave took a turn too wide and ended up in a mud puddle, allowing you to zoom ahead of him. “Ha! Get rekt scrublord.”

“Oh my god dude, ‘get rekt’? Really?”

“Yeah, get rekt! You’re fucked! I’m going to win!” You exclaimed excitedly as the finish line came into view.

Suddenly Dave’s foot shot out and kicked the controller out of your hands. “No!” You yelled as Yoshi ground to a halt and Dave as Princess Peach flew past you, crossing the finish line.

Dave’s arms flew up in victory and he turned to you with the biggest shit eating grin you’d ever seen on him. “Davey wins.”

You looked at him, appalled. “How dare you.”

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I won fair and square.”

You slowly shook your head at him, giving him the most scathing look you could manage. You got up to go retrieve your controller, tsking at him as you went. It landed a good couple of feet away. “Jesus, Dave,” you muttered, “Talk about ‘overkill.’”

After picking up the controller and turning back around, you went to make another snarky remark, but the words got caught in your throat. Looking down at Dave from this angle allowed you to see his eyes over his shades. He had a black eye. Why did Dave have a Black eye? How did it happen? Why didn’t he tell you?

“Dave,” you said, not sure of how to go about this. “You have a black eye. Why?” Tactless and blunt it is.

Dave tensed up immediately. “What? No, I don’t.” He was a terrible liar.

You sat back down beside him, “I saw it, Dave. Don’t bother denying it. What happened?” You tried your best to sound calm, but on the inside, you were starting to freak out. Why was he lying?

Dave crossed his arms, defensive, “Okay, fine. I have a black eye. So what?”

 _So what?_ “So what happened?” You asked, feeling like that should have been obvious.

Dave shrugged, “Nothing, it’s whatever.”

You were starting to get frustrated as your concern grew, “No, Dave, it isn’t whatever. What happened? I’m kind of freaking out.”

Dave seemed conflicted, hesitating for a moment, “Don’t worry Karkat, really. It’s fine. It’s no big deal,” he said quickly.

“It’s not fine!” You exclaimed, unable to hide your panic anymore. “This _is_ a big deal, Dave, and you not telling me what happened is scaring me!”

“No, no, it’s okay Kat,” Dave said, trying to be soothing, but sounding too freaked out himself for it to work. He put his hands on your cheeks, holding your face as you felt tears rise in your eyes and your breathing speed up. “Don’t worry, Kar, really. I’m fine, it’s okay, I’m used to it, don’t worry,” He said frantically, desperately trying to calm you down.

That just made you full on cry though, “What do you _mean_ you’re used to it?!”

Dave froze, realizing what he let slip. “Uh, no- I mean- that’s uh- that’s not what I meant.” 

“What did you mean then?” You asked, not buying that he misspoke. He told you something he didn’t want you to know.

“I mean, you know, uh,” he mumbled, clearly trying to buy himself time to come up with a lie. “Boys will be boys?” He said with a shrug. He didn’t sound like even _he_ believed his lie. “You know, boys do stupid shit all the time. Sometimes we get hurt, it’s no big deal.”

“Just tell me what happened, Dave.” You were running out of patience. You weren’t believing his lies and the more he dodged the question the more you worried.

“I ran into a door, it’s nothing. Just embarrassing, okay?” Dave said unconvincingly. He really was a terrible liar.

“Dave. Enough. I know you’re lying. Just tell me what happened.”

Dave crossed his arms and leaned back, away from you. “It’s none of your business, Karkat. Let it go.”

You stared at him, mouth agape. “Are you kidding me?” _None of your business. Bullshit._ “Honestly, Dave, you being so cagey about this is making me suspect somebody gave you that black eye. Was it Vriska?”

Dave froze again. Bingo.

“It wasn’t Vriska.” Dave said, looking and sounding deeply uncomfortable.

“Who was it then? Cause it was definitely somebody.” You weren’t sure if you should be pushing Dave this hard. Part of you was telling you that he was entitled to his secrets, but the rest of you said fuck that. If somebody was hurting Dave than you needed to know who.

Dave curled in on himself, “let it go, Karkat. Please.”

“I can’t, Dave,” you said, calmer now. You were still panicking, but it had settled now. You could at least _pretend_ to be calm. “If someone is hurting you, I need you to tell me.”

“I can’t,” Dave said in a small voice.

That sent a new wave of worry through you. “Why not?” You asked, just as quietly.

Dave shook his head. “I’m not supposed to.”

Your worry continued to grow. It had crossed over into fear now. Who could be hurting Dave that wouldn’t let him talk about it? Your mind went to parents, but Dave didn’t have parents. He lived with his brothers. It must have been them then, either one or both of them. You met Dirk before, and he didn’t seem like the type. He was aloof, but he seemed to genuinely care about Dave. Bro then?

“Was it Bro?” You asked him in a whisper. You felt like if you spoke any louder than that then this rare moment of honesty would be shattered, and Dave would go back to fronting.

Dave tensed again. He didn’t say anything, just sat with his knees to his chest and his face hidden against them.

Your chest got tight and your throat closed up. You wouldn’t let yourself cry again though. This was about Dave, not you. Instead you shuffled forward and draped your arms around Dave in an awkward hug. After a moment Dave unwound a bit and wrapped his arms around your waist, pressing his face against your neck. His shades were jabbing you in the neck uncomfortably, but you refused to ruin the moment by moving.

After a couple of heavy, vulnerable minutes Dave pulled back, releasing you from the hug. You shuffled back as well, giving him some space.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Dave said, almost too quietly for you to hear.

“I wont,” you said.

Dave reached out, grabbed your hand, and give it a little squeeze before letting it go and standing up. “I should probably go,” he said, “It’s pretty late.”

You didn’t want him going back there, back to Bro, but you knew you didn’t have a choice. “’Kay.”

You got up and followed him to the door. You stood with you arms crossed, leaning against the wall while you watched Dave put on his shoes. Neither of you said anything. Dave straightened up, shoes on, and looked at you for a moment before he turned, opened the door, and took a step outside. Only one. He stopped, turned back around and gave you another, much quicker, hug. And then he was off, jogging down the driveway.

Your heart felt heavy and you didn’t know what to do. You wandered despondently back to your room and threw yourself down onto your bed. You couldn’t even cry. You felt desperately sad, but also so hopeless and helpless that you could bring yourself to do anything. Not even cry. You just lied there, feeling awful.

-

Your name is Karkat Vantas and when you were thirteen years old your heart broke for the first time.

Dave was sitting on the steps outside of school, waiting for you like he did everyday. He always showed up before you because he took advantage of the free breakfast the school provided. You never understood how Dave could tolerate the crap your school served, but he insisted it wasn’t that bad and you were just a food snob.

He wasn’t eating when you approached though, which was unusual. Instead he was anxiously bouncing his knee. You had a bad feel about that.

“Hey,” you said when you go close enough for him to hear you, “Everything alright?”

Dave chuckled humourlessly, “Not really.”

Your heart dropped, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m moving,” Dave said, emotionlessly.

“You’re what?” Oh, god no. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. You can’t lose Dave. He’s your best friend. He’s your _only_ friend! What are you going to do without him? You can’t go back to having no friends. You can’t.

“Karkat,” Dave said, snapping you out of your panicked thoughts. He had his hands on you shoulders, holding you steady. When did he get up? You didn’t even notice.

“When?” You asked, your voice a panicked croak.

Dave hesitated, giving you a sympathetic look, “Today. Dirk is picking me up after school.”

You felt like the world fell out from under your feet. You distantly knew that you were panicking, but you didn’t really feel it. It was like you were outside of your body, watching yourself freak out. You were on your knees, crying and hyperventilating while Dave desperately tried to help you without knowing how. He was kneeling beside you, rubbing your back and shooshing you, telling you to breath. You _were_ breathing, you were breathing too much, that was the problem!

“Karkat, Karkat, it’s okay, it’s alright,” Dave said, still rubbing your back. He pulled you into a hug then, holding you and rocking side to side gently, as if you were a fussy baby.

You continued to cry on his shoulder, slowly coming down from your panic. You focused on taking slow deep breaths; In for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8. After 3 rounds you started to feel a bit better.

Dave pulled back to look at you, holding your cheeks in his hands, “You okay?”

“Not really,” you said, still feeling awful, “But at least I’m not crying anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Kat” Dave said, “I would have given you more warning if I could have. I was only told last night.”

“Why?” You asked, “Why such short notice?”

“I don’t know,” Dave said shrugging, “I haven’t really been told anything.”

You shook your head in disbelief. It didn’t make sense. “Where are you going?”

“New York,” Dave said, “Dirk and I are going to live with my mom and sisters.”

“New York? That’s so far.” You said, despondently, “We’re never going to see each other again, are we?”

Dave looked like he was going to disagree but stopped himself. “Maybe.”

You dropped your head into your hands and groaned. You wanted to fight it, to put a stop to all of this, but you knew there was nothing you could do.

“I know,” Dave said, sounding as miserable as you felt.

You heard Dave stand up, so you lifted your face out of your hands to look at him. He had his hand stretched out to you. “Come on,” he said.

You took his hand an let him pull you to your feet. He continued to hold your hand and dragged you away from the school.

“Where are we going?” you asked, confused.

“Somewhere else,” he said. “I’m not going to waste my last day with you in that hellhole.”

Dave dragged you down the sidewalk and over to a park you used to play at when you were younger. You smiled when you realized where he was taking you. He brought you over to the swing set and pushed your shoulders down, making you sit on a swing. He then sat on the neighbouring swing, “We’re going to have fun. Start swinging.”

You smiled a fond, endeared little smile and started to swing.

Like always Dave managed to swing way higher than you, no matter how hard you pumped you legs. Dave laughed at you when you got frustrated and yelled at him to slow his ass down and stop showing you up. He decided to do the opposite, of course, and jumped off the swing at the highest point of its arc and landed in a somersault before popping up to his feet, a shit eating grin on his face.

“Show off,” you grumbled.

The rest of your day was spent playing children’s games and enjoying each other’s company. You played hopscotch and tag for the first time in years and when you got tired or bored you would just sit on a bench and talk. You loved the time you were spending together, but at the same time the fact that you would probably never see Dave again when it was over weighed heavily on you.

All too soon the time to return to the school came and you had to fight the urge to cry again. Dave could see what you were feeling and gave you a sad smile. He bent down then and when he stood back up, he was holding a dandelion he had picked. He held it out to you, his smile becoming a little wobbly. You couldn’t stop yourself then and broke down again, wrapping your arms around Dave’s neck and pulling him in for a tight hug. Dave wrapped his arms around your waist and held you just as tightly as you held him.

After a couple of embarrassing moments spent crying all over Dave’s shirt, you both separated, taking a step back and weakly chucking at each other’s red, tear stained face. You looked down and noticed that Dave was still holding the dandelion, so you took it from him and placed it behind your ear. Dave smiled at you and laced his fingers through yours again and lead you back towards the school.

The walk to the school was just as silent as the walk away from it. Both leaned against a wall facing the parking lot, waiting for Dirk to show up. Neither of you spoke, not knowing what to say, so you just held hands and waited.

The final bell rang, and students started filing out of the building, heading home. Your grip on Dave’s hand tightened as the time when Dirk would come and take Dave away forever neared. After only five more minutes of waiting, you saw Dirk’s shitty third hand car pull up.

You turned to Dave, a new wave of panic washing over you. You were surprised to see him mirroring your expression. You both went in for another bone crushing hug, trying not to cry for the millionth time that day. You both let go, stepping away from each other.

“Dave!” Dirk called from across the parking lot. “Let’s go!”

You both looked to where Dirk was standing, leaning against the car, then back towards each other.

“I love you, you know,” you said around the lump in your throat.

Dave chuckled wetly, “Love you too, Kat.”

“Dave!” Dirk yelled again.

Dave looked back toward him, then back at you and said, “Fuck it,” before grabbing your face and pulling you in for quick kiss. Before you could even register what had happened Dave had let go and was walking to Dirk’s car.

You stood there, dumbfounded, watching as Dave got into his brother’s car and drove out of your life. As soon as the car was out of sight you snapped out of it and started to cry.

Sobbing and inconsolable, you walked home alone for the first time in five years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karkat's dad is the real MVP.


	2. Chapter 2

Your Name is Karkat Vantas and the next five years were hell.

Without Dave you suddenly had to go through life alone. You ate lunch alone, walked home alone, spent the weekends alone. And without Dave around to defend you, you quickly became the school’s favourite punching bag. No one wanted to befriend you because of your reputation as the local pariah, knowing that if they got close to you, they would be treated the same way you were.

So, you adapted. You became callous and abrasive, yelling and swearing and throwing punches whenever someone tried to mess with you. It helped your bullying problem a little bit, but It made the friend situation that much worse. People no longer avoided you out of fear of what others would do to them, instead they avoided you because you were an unlikable asshole.

You hoped that things would get better after middle school, that high school would be a fresh start for you, but it was just more of the same. Made even worse though because there were bigger, older kids around to fuck with you now. They weren’t very intimidated by a spazzy freshman so your ‘yell and start fights’ technique was pretty useless against them.

Your defenses evolved again, and you became withdrawn. Trying desperately to never draw any attention to yourself. You just wanted to disappear. You contemplated suicide often but could never bring yourself to attempt it. You would imagine your dad coming home, finding you, and how devastated he would be and that would convince you not to try anything.

So, you continued to go through the motions of life. You went to school, you did your homework, you got good grades all in the hope of one day getting to leave that god forsaken town. You didn’t want to leave your dad, but the appeal of getting to live somewhere nobody knew you was stronger. You didn’t know where you would go, you just wanted out.

In junior year of high school something odd happened. Someone started talking to you. She was beautiful and popular, so you assumed it was some kind of trick, but she just kept being nice to you. She would go out of her way to spend time with you, kept people from messing with you, and acted like she genuinely gave a shit about you. You assumed she only became friends with you out of pity. You didn’t get it, but you appreciated having someone to talk to again.

Life got better after Kanaya entered it. It still sucked, but it was better. She would come over on the weekend sometimes and once you realized she wasn’t playing some cruel prank on you, you quickly got attached to her. You finally had someone you could talk to about all of the things you were bottling up. You found her to be an excellent listener and you were more than happy to return the favour when she needed someone to talk to. She told you that she thought she might be a lesbian, you told her that you thought you might be trans.

Near the end of senior year Kanaya told you that she was going to study fashion in New York. Your heart dropped, feeling a terrible sense of déjà vu. She asked you then if you had any plans for where you wanted to study and, if you didn’t, would you like to come to New York with her. Knowing what it was like to have no friends and desperately wanting to avoid that at all costs, you accepted her offer.

You applied to a college in New York and were accepted, so it was settled. You and Kanaya started looking for apartments in New York (state, not city, there was no way you would be able to afford that) and found a nice two bedroom that wasn’t too far from either of your schools. You got everything set up so when you got to New York the apartment would be ready for you.

Your dad and brother dropped you off at the airport the week after graduation so you would have plenty of time to get used to things before school started in the fall. Your dad predictably started to cry when you hugged him goodbye, blubbering out last minute advice and encouragement. You may have cried a bit too. Your goodbye with Kankri was considerably more composed.

You met up with Kanaya at your gate and chatted with her while you waited for your flight. You had never flown before and were very nervous. Kanaya tried her best to calm you down and reassure you, but she knew a lost cause when she saw one and quickly gave up. She distracted you with word games instead, which you appreciated.

When it was finally time for you board your flight, you were a ball of nerves which Kanaya had to push along to get you where you needed to go. You and Kanaya were seated next to each other, which was good for your anxiety. Kanaya took the window seat because you felt that if you could see how high up you were you would puke. Kanaya crocheted a scarf during the flight and you listened to the first few chapters of a romance novel audiobook.

Three and a half hours later you landed in New York. You successfully managed to not throw up the entire time and was a little bit proud of yourself. You couldn’t get off the metal death trap fast enough. You may or may not have pushed a small child out of your way so you could get to the door first, but that’s neither here nor there.

Once you and Kanaya had collected your luggage you called a cab and headed to your new home for the first time. Kanaya, being the more responsible of the two of you, was the one who had the keys. The landlord had mailed them to her a couple of days before you left. You weren’t sure if that was standard practice, but it seemed a little risky to you.

Your building didn’t have an elevator, which sucked, and your apartment was on the sixth floor, which _really_ sucked, but it was cheap. After lugging your bags up six flights of stairs, you were starting to question your choice in apartments though.

Kanaya unlocked the door and dragged her stuff inside. You followed in after her and the first thing you noticed was that the apartment smelled _very_ strongly of artificial lemons. At least it was clean, you guessed. The second thing you noticed was that it was a lot smaller than it looked online. You weren’t very surprised by that though.

You were so glad you’d had the foresight to have your furniture moved in before you flew in. You dropped your bags in the room that you and Kanaya had decided would be yours and immediately flopped onto your bed. It didn’t have any sheets on it, but you were tired enough to sleep on your bare mattress. You made a mental note to never book a flight that took off after 12AM ever again.

Adjusting to life in a new state was strange. You didn’t know anyone or where anything was. It was kind of nice though. Your life was completely different than how it was when you lived in Houston. One significant difference was that you and Kanaya both decided to come out when you got to New York.

Kanaya came out without much fan fair. She called her sister first, who already suspected Kanaya was gay so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to her. Kanaya then called her mom, who had a similar reaction. Both of them were very supportive and sweet and you could tell how relieved Kanaya was when it was over.

Then it was your turn, and you were so nervous. Logically, you knew your dad would be just as supportive as Kanaya’s mom was, but you couldn’t help but wonder _what if?_ What if he wasn’t? What if he disowned you? What if he wanted nothing to do with you anymore? You weren’t sure if you could handle that.

After a brief panic attack, which Kanaya handled like a pro, you decided to bite the bullet and call your dad. _It’ll be fine,_ you told yourself, _your dad is an openminded guy, he’ll be totally fine._

Your dad picked up on the third ring, “Hey, kiddo! How’s New York treating you?”

“Good,” you said awkwardly, “It’s alright.”

“What’s wrong? You sound off, is everything okay?”

Of course your dad noticed, he always did. “Yeah, no, everything’s fine. I just need to tell you something.”

“What’d you do?” Your dad asked in the gentle, but exasperated way he did whenever you got in trouble at school.

“Nothing, it’s nothing like that. It’s just…” you hesitated. You took a deep breath thinking _just do it, you big baby_ , and said, “I’m trans.”

“Trans…” your dad said. “I think I’ve heard Kankri talk about that in one of his social justice rants. Does that mean you’re a boy, then?” He didn’t _sound_ upset, just curious. Maybe a little confused.

“Uh,” you started awkwardly, “I’m not super sure what I am. All I know for sure is that I don’t feel like a girl. I might be a boy, or I might be non-binary, I haven’t really figured it out yet. Wait, do you know what ‘non-binary’ means?”

“Well, based on the name of it I’m going to guess it means neither a boy nor a girl?” You dad said. You couldn’t quite place the emotion in his voice. All you knew was that he didn’t sound unhappy with you, and that was good enough for you.

“Yeah, pretty much,” you said. You didn’t really want to get into a discussion about the various kinds of gender identities and the nuances of each of them. You’d leave that to Kankri.

“Alright,” your dad said gently, “So you’re not a girl. What should I call you then?”

You started to tear up at that. This was going better than you could have hoped. Your dad was being understanding and compassionate, like you knew he would be deep down, and you didn’t have to explain what ‘trans’ meant, which you were dreading.

“I’m not sure,” you said, an emotional laugh bubbling up. “Kanaya has been calling me ‘they’, but I think I want to try having people call me ‘he.’ You can do either, which ever one works for you.”

“Alright,” your dad said again, “I think it might be easier for me to go with ‘he’? I’m not very used to calling people ‘they’ and I want to avoid slipping up as much as I can. Is that okay?”

You laughed again, “Yeah, dad, that’s okay.”

“Are you still okay with being called Karkat?”

“Yeah,” you said, “As far as I know I’m the only Karkat there is, so it’s not like there’s any particular gender associated with it.”

“True,” your dad said, “Your mother always liked to be unique.”

Your mom died when you were too young to remember it, but the mention of her still makes you emotional. You didn’t know how to respond.

After a moment of comfortable silence your dad said, “Would you like me to tell Kankri or would you like to do it yourself?”

“Would you?” You asked hopefully, “I’d really like to avoid talking identity politics with him. He might say something so stupid I’ll have to fly home just to punch him, and I don’t have room in my schedule for that.”

Your dad laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll take that bullet for you.”

“Thanks, dad,” you said, “For everything.”

“Of course, Kitkat.”

“I gotta go. Love you, dad.”

“Love you too, kid.”

With that you hung up the phone and flopped back on you bed, relieved. You did it. It’s done. And it went way better than expected. You felt exhausted as the intense emotions from the call drained out of you. You decided that you deserved a nap after that.

The next couple of months were an anxious blur, full of paperwork, phone calls, and emails as you got ready to start school in the fall. You were excited for this new, hopefully better, chapter of your life, but you were also pants-shittingly terrified. College would be nothing like high school and that could either be a blessing or a curse. You had your fingers crossed for blessing.

The day finally came, and you nervously went through the motions of orientation and your first couple of classes. You had a map glued to your hand for the first week, not caring if you looked like a nerd, you were not about to get lost.

Despite the different format and layout of a college as opposed to a high school, it really didn’t feel all that different. Just with the added benefit of no one giving a shit about you. Everyone had places to be and things to do. Nobody cared enough to mess with you. The anonymity you were experiencing was honestly delightful. No one knew who you were or what your history was, and it was great.

“Karkat?” You heard someone say, “Is that you?”

 _Fuck,_ you thought, _so much for delightful anonymity. Some asshole followed you here._

Turning to look in the direction of the voice you saw a man you didn’t immediately recognize. He was tall, _really_ tall, with shaggy blond hair and a farmer’s tan. It didn’t dawn on you who it was until you realized that he was wearing shades despite it being overcast.

“Holy shit,” you said in disbelief, “No way.”

The man you now recognized as Dave jogged over to you with a big smile on his face, “I thought it was you! Man, you haven’t changed at all.”

You just stared at him, mouth agape, dumbfounded. You were having a hard time wrapping your head around the fact that the man standing in front of you was Dave. Short, scrawny, awkward Dave. He was none of those things now. He was a good foot taller than you and had filled out nicely. His shoulders were broad, and he looked fit. You would think he played a sport if you didn’t know how much Dave hated sports. But maybe he didn’t anymore? The last time you saw him he was just a kid.

Dave waved his hand in front of your eyes then, “Hello, Earth to Karkat? You in there? Or did my stunning good looks fry your brain? One look at my gorgeous physique and that was it, your mind couldn’t take it and self destructed? Just said ‘oh shit, that’s too much handsome in one package, cannot compute’ and shut down?”

Okay, maybe he was still awkward.

You swatted his hand away from your face, “No, asshole, I just wasn’t expecting to see you here.” _Or anywhere._

“ _You_ weren’t expecting to see _me? I_ wasn’t expecting to see _you!_ You at least knew I lived in New York, as far as I knew you were still in Texas. What _are_ you doing here anyway?” Dave asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” You said gesturing around you, at the college campus you were on.

“Okay, yeah, that was kind of a stupid question,” Dave said with a sheepish grin, “let’s just pretend what I meant by that was ‘what are you studying?’”

“Okay,” you said, smiling back at him. God, it was nice to talk to him again. “I’m just getting credits right now. Doing a little bit of everything. Arts and sciences and all that. I haven’t figured out what I want to do yet, so that seemed like the best option for now.”

“That’s smart,” Dave said with a funny little smile on his face, “That’s probably why I’m also doing that.”

“Really?” You asked. You always thought Dave would go on to become a paleontologist like he always said he would. “Have you given up on your dino dreams?”

“Ah,” Dave said, dramatically putting a hand to his heart like you wounded him, “I could never do that, my dino love is too strong. I’m not sure if I want to pursue it as a career though. I have a lot of different things I want to do. Lots of fingers in lots of pies,” Dave smiled in that way he always did when he made a pun or a double entendre he was pleased with. “I’m considering studying music, or maybe film. I don’t know yet, hence the ‘little bit of everything’ plan.”

“That’s a way more interesting reason than what I have. My problem is that I don’t have anything I want to do. There’s nothing I’m really passionate about. Kind of the opposite of your problem,” you said. You felt like a bit of a loser saying that out loud.

“Karkat Vantas, not passionate? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Dave said. He was still smiling which was weird to you. Dave never used to smile in public like this, and if he did it was only for a split second. You guess five years can do a lot to a person. It certainly changed you.

“I know,” you said with a shrug. “Where did all that fire go? The only things I’m passionate about anymore are yelling at people and romance novels.”

Dave laughed, “You should write a romance novel and record an audiobook of it where you yell the whole thing. Best of both worlds.”

You laughed. Man, it felt good. You hadn’t laughed much in the past couple of years and you really missed it. You really missed him.

You smiled at him fondly, “I really missed you.”

He mirrored your look, “I really missed you too. We should hang out some time, catch up and all that.”

“Yeah, we should,” you said.

“Lemme see your phone,” he said.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to him.

“I’m putting my number in, in case you didn’t already figure that out,” he said, not looking up from what he was doing.

“I figured,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“Alright, cool,” he said. “How fucked up would it be if I just ran off with your phone? Sold it on the black market or some shit.”

You gave him an unamused look, your hand out for your phone, “Very.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” he said, placing it in your open palm. “Text me whenever. I should probably get to class now, though.”

“Oh, yeah, no problem,” you said, “See you later then?”

“Yeah,” he said. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before leaning down and scooping you into a hug. “It’s really good to see you again, Kat,” he said quietly into your ear.

You heart fluttered a bit at that, “It’s good to see you too.”

He let go of you and leaned back, “Jesus, have you always been this tiny or did you shrink?” He asked, smirking.

“I’m not tiny,” you said with a pout, “You’re just freakishly huge.”

Dave chuckled, “See you, Kat.”

“See you,” you said.

Your heart was beating weirdly as you watched him walk away.

 _Fuck._ It appeared your dormant crush on Dave Strider had reawakened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need comments to live, they are my only source of sustenance.


	3. Chapter 3

Your name is Karkat Vantas and your day did not go how you expected.

As soon as you got home you dropped onto the couch next to Kanaya, staring into space.

“You alright?” She asked, not looking up from the book she was reading.

“Yeah,” you said, “just had a weird day.”

“Weird how?”

“You know Dave? Childhood best friend who moved away when we were thirteen, absolutely devastating me? Apparently, he goes here. I ran into him on my way back from class.”

Kanaya looked up then, “That’s quite the coincidence. How was it?”

“It was nice,” you said, “super fucking weird, but nice.”

“Oh?” Kanaya said, intrigued, “Why was it weird?”

“It was just…” you before pausing to think. You weren’t quite sure how to describe it. “I don’t know. He was different, but the same? Like, he talked the same way, but everything else was different. He was always really withdrawn around everyone but me. Like he never used to smile unless we were alone, but today he was smiling openly. I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is for Dave. And how he looks! He looks so different. I didn’t even recognize him at first.”

“Oh?” Kanaya said again, prompting you to elaborate.

“Yeah, like when we were kids Dave was this short, pasty weirdo who would wear these stupid triangle sunglasses constantly. When I saw him today though, he looked pretty fucking good to be honest.”

Kanaya raised an amused eyebrow at that.

“None of that,” you said pointing to the offending eyebrow, “I’m just saying, objectively speaking he looked good. He’s all tall, and tanned, and muscular, and he finally ditched those stupid glasses. Well, he _replaced_ those stupid glasses. He was still wearing shades, but they were just normal aviators.”

Kanaya’s eyebrow remained raised. “Sounds to me like somebody’s got a crush.”

“Shut up,” you said, there was no heat to it though.

Kanaya grinned, “So when are you going to see him again?”

“Uh,” you looked down at your phone, “I don’t know. He gave me his number though and said we should hang out sometime.”

“Have you texted him?”

“No, I ran into him and then immediately came home. I didn’t have much of an opportunity.”

“Text him now then.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit soon? It hasn’t even been an hour since I saw him.”

“It’s not too soon, you should text him.”

You looked at Kanaya skeptically, “You just want to be here for any possible drama that happens, don’t you?”

“I can neither confirm, nor deny that accusation.”

You rolled your eyes, “Fine.”

You looked through your contacts for Dave and found a new entry called ‘big daddy strider’ followed by a string of emojis. You shook your head, exasperated but fond. It was just so Dave.

\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling turntechGodhead [TG] at 13:43 --

CG: HEY DAVE, IT’S KARKAT.

CG: BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING, THE CAPSLOCK ON MY PHONE IS BUSTED.

“There, I texted him. He’s probably not going to respond though. He was on his way to class when I saw him.” As soon as the words were out of your mouth your phone buzzed. “Never mind.”

TG: ha!

TG: thats very appropriate

TG: now i can have you yell at me both in person and virtually

CG: AREN’T YOU IN CLASS?

CG: I DON’T WANT TO DISTRACT YOU.

CG: WE CAN TALK LATER, ITS NO PROBLEM.

TG: if you didnt want to distract me whyd you text me while i was in class Bp

CG: WAS THAT A SHADES WEARING EMOJI?

CG: NERD.

CG: AND I WASN’T EXPECTING YOU TO RESPOND YET.

CG: I DON’T WANT YOU TO FALL BEHIND IN CLASS BECAUSE OF ME.

“This is already a dumpster fire,” you said.

“Oh, hush,” Kanaya said from where she was leaning over your shoulder to snoop.

TG: no worries

TG: nothing theyre talking about is stuff i didnt already learn in high school

TG: pretty fucking boring actually

TG: youre a welcome distraction

“That’s good, right?” You asked Kanaya.

“Sure,” she said with a shrug.

CG: WHAT CLASS ARE YOU IN?

TG: math

TG: its making me wish i was dead tbh

TG: i like math fine and im actually pretty good at it

TG: but this review shit is mind numbing

TG: ive already counted all of the ceiling tiles just to have something to do

TG: there are 76 if you were wondering

CG: SOUNDS RIVETING.

TG: oh it is

TG: I lost count at one point and had to start over

TG: pulse pounding stuff

You chuckled at that.

“He seems charming,” Kanaya said.

You didn’t know how to respond to that, so you didn’t.

CG: WHAT ARE YOU DOING AFTER CLASS?

TG: why madame vantas are you asking me on a date?

TG: how forward of you

“Are you going to correct him?” Kanaya asked.

“Not right now.”

CG: CALL IT WHATEVER YOU WANT, I WAS JUST THINKING WE COULD CATCH UP.

CG: YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SUGGESTED EARLIER TODAY.

TG: i suppose im the forward one then

TG: i dont have anywhere to be after class

TG: where would you like to meet?

“Where should we meet?” You asked Kanaya.

She thought for a moment, “There’s a coffee shop on campus. It’s in the main student resource building so he probably knows where it is.”

“Good idea, thanks.”

CG: DO YOU KNOW THE COFFEE PLACE IN THE STUDENT RESOURCE BUILDING?

TG: yeah i know it

TG: class ends in about an hour

TG: wanna meet there then?

CG: SURE, THAT WORKS FOR ME.

TG: its a date Bp

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 14:02 --

You let Kanaya whisk you into your room to play dress up. You just wanted to wear what you were already wearing; sweatpants, an old band tee, and a hoodie, but Kanaya insisted you change.

“That is not appropriate date attire,” she said.

She destroyed your careful organization, pulling things out of your drawers at random and leaving them in a pile on your bed when she rejected them. She finally settled on a pair of tight black jeans (that you hated), a form fitting V-neck (that you hated), and a grey cardigan (that you liked). You weren’t particularly comfortable, but Kanaya insisted you looked great, so you went with it.

You arrived at the coffee shop a couple of minutes early, ordered yourself a coffee (black, like your soul), and took a seat away from the other customers.

You started to get nervous after waiting for almost ten minutes, but you reminded yourself that you got there early, and that Dave said his class would end in _about_ an hour, not exactly an hour. Plus, he still had to walk from the math building. It was perfectly reasonable for him to be a couple of minutes late. It didn’t help your anxiety though. 

Not long after you’d started to suspect that Dave had either stood you up or gotten lost, you saw him enter the shop. You breathed a sigh of relief and waved him over.

“Sorry about that,” he said, “Shouldn’t leave a lady waiting like that.”

Ah, so you were going to have to have that conversation right off the bat then, huh? Great.

“Yeah, about that,” you started. Dave looked nervous, like you were going to tell him to fuck off or being late. “I don’t really identify as a ‘lady’ anymore?”

You really hoped he got what you were saying, and you could just move on.

”Oh,” he said, “What do you identify as?” He didn’t sound weirded out, so you took that as a good sign.

“Uh,” you said eloquently, “I’m not really sure? I just know it’s not as a lady. I mean, gender is confusing and generally bullshit as a concept, but yeah. Not a lady.”

“Oh, alright,” he said, “What would you rather I call you?”

You’ve only come out three times, but they’d all seemed to go well so far. You were happy, but also a little nervous. The other shoe would have to drop eventually, and you were dreading it.

“Uh, either ‘they’ or ‘he’? I haven’t settled on one yet.”

“Do you have a preference?” He asked.

God, why was everyone being so nice to you about this? You weren’t prepared for this.

“Um, not really? Maybe ‘he’?”

“’He’ it is then,” he said. He had a compassionate little smile on his face, like he could tell what you were thinking. Maybe he could, you were best friends for five years after all.

“So,” you said, clapping you hands together like you were closing a book, “let’s move on from this awkward ass topic.”

Dave laughed, a single loud “Ha,” with his head thrown back. It was still so weird to see him laugh in public.

“Okay,” he said, “What should we talk about?”

“I don’t fucking know,” you said. “Hmm. Oh, here’s something I always wondered; why did you move? And why was it so sudden?”

“Getting straight into, huh?” He said, the corner of his mouth curled up the tiniest bit. “Custody bullshit,” he said with a shrug, “My mom got custody of me, and Dirk was eighteen, so he decided to come along. Dirk and I don’t actually have the same mom, our family is kind of a clusterfuck.”

You didn’t know any of that. Huh.

“What kind of clusterfuck?” You asked, not sure of what else to say.

“Well,” he said, “Dirk is the oldest and he has the same dad, who I thought was my brother, as my twin sister, Rose, and I. Then came Roxy. She has the same mom as Rose and I. Dirk and Roxy aren’t related by blood, but they still consider themselves siblings. Our parents got together when Roxy and Dirk were really little, had Rose and I, then split. Our dad took Dirk and I, and our mom took Roxy and Rose. Clusterfuck.”

“A clusterfuck indeed,” you said. Despite being best friends with Dave for so long you didn’t know any of that. You didn’t even know Dave had a twin.

“I know what you’re thinking, ‘hey Dave, that sure is a lot of super basic information I never knew about you, what’s up with that?’ Well to answer your hypothetical question; I didn’t know any of it either. I know, crazy.”

“Why didn’t you know about it?” You asked.

“My Bro- who was actually my dad- wasn’t a very chatty guy. Didn’t say much of anything. He definitely didn’t do exposition dumps about family shit. No joke, I didn’t even know what his name was until I moved here and my mom told me what it was.”

You stared at him, open mouthed. _That’s insane._ “What was his name?” You decided to ask for some reason.

“Broderick. I know right. It explained why everyone called him ‘Bro’ at least. And it’s apparently where the name ‘Dirk’ came from.” He was shaking his head as if he was explaining the stupidest shit he’d ever heard. Maybe he was? It _was_ pretty absurd.

“Oh, and get this,” he said, “My mom’s name? Roxanne. They both named their firstborns after themselves. What does that say about them, I wonder.”

“Either they’re full of themselves or not very creative,” you said. “Sorry,” you added after realizing that that was pretty rude.

Dave let out another loud ‘ha’ and shrugged, “I mean, you’re not wrong,” he said. “Speaking of parents, how’s your dad? I always liked him; he was nice.”

You smiled, “He’s good. Same old same old. He’ll be happy to hear that we saw each other again. He still talks about you sometimes. He really liked you.”

“Aw,” Dave said, smiling shyly, “That makes me happy. I always wanted him to like me.”

“I know,” you said. “You had nothing to worry about, though. My dad likes everyone, and you were a sweet kid.”

Dave chuckled, “I was a little shit, I just didn’t want him to know it.”

You laughed, “You had your moments.”

Dave was smiling at you, looking fond. It made your heart flutter, but you ignored it. None of that, you wouldn’t let feelings get in the way of a nice moment with an old friend.

“How was life after I left?” He asked, and the warm fuzzy feeling in your chest vanished.

“Shitty,” you said. “Really shitty.”

Dave looked sad. You felt his gaze lower and saw his brow furrow. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“It wasn’t your fault, Dave. I know you would have stayed if you could have.”

He nodded, “I still feel bad about it though. We only had each other so I know it was probably really rough for a while. At least I had a twin I could cling to.”

“Whatever. Shit happens, right? Things are better now so,” you shrugged in lieu of finishing your sentence.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Shit wasn’t too great for me for a while too. I had quite the rebellious phase if you can believe it.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Oh?” _Who are you, Kanaya?_

“Yep,” he said, smiling shyly again. “I was so stupid. I actually smoked for a while. I quit after about a year when I realized I hated it and was only doing it to try and look cool. But yeah, a lot of parties, drinking, and premarital sex later, I decided I was just being a jackass and cut it out.”

Thinking about Dave having sex made you feel… things. It simultaneously turned you on, made you jealous, and made you feel like a creep.

“Nice,” you said sarcastically, not sure of what else you could say to that. “I didn’t have a rebellious phase; I was too much of a nerd for that.”

Dave laughed, “You didn’t miss out on much. 0/10, would not recommend.”

“Have anything good to share?” You asked.

“Hmm,” Dave hummed, making an exaggerated thinking face and stroking an imaginary beard. What a dork. “We have a cat? I’ve never had a pet before, so it’s pretty cool to have one. She’s a real sweetheart. ‘Her name is Mutie, short for ‘Mutinini’. It’s a combination of the words ‘mutant’ cause she’s polydactyl, and ‘martini’ cause my mom is an alcoholic. Aw, fuck, I made it sad at the end. Dammit.”

You couldn’t help but huff out a laugh at that. Based on Dave’s smile you’re willing to bet he meant to make you laugh.

“Your turn,” he said, “Tell me something good.”

You thought for a minute. It was pretty depressing how hard you had to think to come up with something good you could tell him.

“Jesus,” he said, “I really hope your memory is just shit and that good things aren’t _that_ uncommon in your life.”

“You and me both,” you said, “unfortunately, I think it’s the latter.”

“Bummer,” he said.

“Yep,” you replied.

“Gotta start making you some good memories, then,” he said.

“How do you suggest I do that?” you asked, mostly to see what he’d come up with.

“Just keep hanging out with me, good times are bound to follow,” he said grinning at you.

It was your turn to throw your head back and bark out a laugh. “Smooth.”

“Thank you,” he said with a little bow.

The rest of your conversation remained light after that. Saying stupid shit in an attempt to make each other laugh, usually succeeding, but even when your jokes didn’t land, they still ended up being funny. They may not stick the landing, but you could still laugh at how they crashed and burned.

You didn’t want it to end. You wanted to stay, keep shooting the shit and making each other laugh, but you both still had class in the morning, and it was getting late. You reluctantly said your goodbyes and went your separate ways. Even though you knew it was silly, a part of you worried that Dave could slip out of your life again. That if you left you might never see him again. You tamped that part of you down and headed home.


	4. Chapter 4

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you are a creep.

When you arrived back at your apartment Kanaya was back in her spot on the couch, reading her book. She looked up when she heard you enter.

“How did it go?” She asked.

“Good,” you said, flopping down on the couch beside her. “It was really nice, actually.”

Kanaya grinned at you, “Oh? Do tell.”

You shrugged, “There’s not much to tell. We hung out and talked.”

“Did you kiss?” She asked with her chin in her hands.

“No, you damn gossip monger, I don’t even think it was a date. It was just two old friends, hanging out and catching up. There was nothing romantic about it.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Kanaya said with a sigh. “Are you sure it wasn’t a date though? He did refer to it as one in his text.”

“I’m pretty sure. It didn’t feel all that different from how things were when we were kids. It was purely platonic.”

“Would you have liked for it to have been a little less platonic?” Kanaya asked, giving you a knowing look.

“I don’t know,” you said honestly, “I really like him and he’s an attractive guy, but I don’t want to cross any lines. I’d rather have him as a friend than risk scaring him away with my piss poor attempts at romantic advances.”

Kanaya looked amused, “Whatever you say, Karkat. So, when are you going to see him again?”

“You’re a nosy broad, you know that?” You said fondly.

“Yes, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

You rolled your eyes, “I don’t know, we didn’t make any more plans.”

“You should text him, then,” Kanaya said with a conspiratorial smile.

“Oh, my god,” you said, exasperated, standing up and heading to your room. “Goodnight, Kanaya,” you called back to her.

“Goodnight.” You could hear the smile in her voice.

You changed out of the uncomfortable clothes Kanaya stuffed you into and lied down on your bed. Your mind predictably wandered to Dave. You wondered what he was up to, what he thought of you, if he liked you the way you liked him. Probably not, but you could dream.

You thought about the things he told you. About his family and his life as a teenager. His ‘rebellious phase.’ You remembered his comment about how he had lots of ‘premarital sex.’ You went down an embarrassing rabbit hole then.

You wondered what Dave looked like naked, your mind conjuring up plenty of images. You wondered what Dave fucked like. What it would be like for you to fuck him. You didn’t know, you’d never fucked anyone before. You were pretty sure it’d be nice though, getting to sleep with Dave.

You could picture it; lying on your back while Dave holds himself over you. Lying between your legs, kissing down your neck as he grinds against you. Grabbing one of your thighs to pull you closer. Sighing your name against your neck, you moaning his in return. Running your hands down his broad back until you reach his ass. Wrapping your legs around his waist, pushing him further inside you with your heels.

At some point during your fantasizing your hand found its way down your body and had started to rub your clit at a brutal pace. You felt a bit like a creep but was enjoying yourself too much to care.

Dave gasps then, and you feel the muscles in his back tense at the unexpected bout of pleasure. He lifts his face from your neck and presses his lips to yours, kissing you, desperate and hungry. You bite his lip and when he gasps you slip your tongue inside his mouth. He moans around it and bucks into you harder. Between kisses he says sweet words, praising you. He calls you things like ‘beautiful’ and ‘perfect.’ He says he still loves you.

Your mind went blank and your body tensed as you came, throwing an arm over your mouth to muffle the sound. When the sensation became too much you moved your hand away from your clit and rested it on your chest. You could feel your heart beating rapidly as your chest heaved with the force of your breaths.

You let yourself enjoy the afterglow for a moment before your rational mind woke back up. As soon as it did you felt like such a creep. You just got off thinking about your childhood friend fucking you. Your childhood friend who you only saw for the first time in five years that day, and yet you had already fucked up your relationship by getting a boner for him. Fuck.

Despite your complicated feelings for him, Dave became a permanent fixture in your life again. You would text constantly and meet up between classes. You saw him almost everyday and on the rare days when you didn’t you missed him more than you probably should’ve. And your crush only got stronger every time you saw him.

You spent an embarrassing amount of time with your hand down your pants at night, thinking about Dave and all the things you wished he would do to you. Without fail, you’d enjoy yourself but as soon as you finished, you’d feel terrible. Like a creep, like you were taking advantage of Dave in some way. He wanted to be your friend and there you were, getting off to fantasies of him fucking you. You tried your best to supress your feelings for him, but you just couldn’t. You wanted him so badly, but you knew you couldn’t have him. His friendship was too valuable to risk ruining it.

You were walking around campus with Dave after eating a late lunch together when it happened. You were telling Dave about a prof that you hated when you heard a woman’s voice yell out, “Dave!” You looked up and saw a beautiful girl with long, curly black hair and round rim glasses running over to you.

“Jade,” Dave said with a big smile.

_Oh, fuck, they know each other._

“Hey!” Jade said when she reached the two of you. She had a huge smile on her face and looked delighted to see Dave. Your heart dropped when you saw that Dave looked just as happy to see her.

_Oh no, he likes her_. There’s no way you could compete with a girl like that.

Jade clasped her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth, “What’s up?”

“Nothing much, just living life and being cool. You know, the usual,” Dave said with a shrug and a smile.

“Soooo cooool,” Jade said in a way that made you suspect it was some kind of inside joke.

Dave chuckled and said, “You know it, Harley,” with a finger guns/tongue click combo.

You raised an eyebrow at that stunning display of nerdiness.

Jade giggled and gave Dave an obviously infatuated smile.

That was it, you didn’t have a chance. Jade clearly liked Dave, and Dave liked her back. They had history. _Relevant_ history. Sure, you knew Dave when he was a kid, but you knew almost nothing about him now. You didn’t know who his friends were, how he met them, who he had dated, or how they broke up.

You had foolishly assumed that you were just as big a part of Dave’s life as he was yours. Of course, Dave had more friends than you. You were a prickly antisocial asshole, Dave was charming and handsome, of course people wanted to be his friend. 

“Who’s your friend?” Jade asked without looking away from Dave, pulling you out of your self-deprecating rabbit hole.

“Karkat,” Dave said, “childhood best friend and current walking buddy.”

“Nice to meet you Karkat, I’m Jade,” she said, finally looking at you.

“Nice to meet you,” you said, feeling awkward.

“Have you seen John lately?” Jade asked, turning her attention back to Dave.

“No, I’ve been pretty busy. Everyone wants a piece of me, you know how it is,” Dave said with a shrug.

Dave and Jade continued their conversation, talking about some guy you didn’t know named John. You completely zoned out, not having any reason to pay attention. You had nothing to add considering you had no idea who they were talking about. You felt so awkward and out of place. You kind of wanted to make an excuse to leave, but you also didn’t want to give up your time with Dave.

You tuned back in when you heard Jade say, “So, what are you doing later?”

Dave shrugged, “What do you have in mind?”

“Oh, you know,” Jade said flirtatiously, “just wondering if you’d be interested in coming over later? It’s been a while.”

“Sounds fun, but I have an essay I need to do tonight. I’ve been getting fucked by assignments lately,” Dave said.

“Aw,” Jade pouted, “That’s too bad. We need to hang out again soon though. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. I’ll text you later okay?” Dave said.

“You better,” she said, “I have to get to class now though, see you.”

“Bye, Jade,” Dave said as Jade bounded off down the sidewalk.

Once Jade was out of earshot you turned to Dave and said, “I didn’t know you had an essay to do? I thought you said you didn’t have any homework?”

“I don’t,” Dave said.

“Then why did you say you did?” You asked, confused.

Dave shrugged and started walking again, “Jade is almost impossible to say ‘no’ to. I just don’t feel like going out. Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “I love Jade, I’m just not in the mood.”

_He loves her?_ Your heart hurt but you didn’t let it show.

“Do you want to cancel movie night tomorrow?” you asked trying not to sound too disappointed.

“No, I’m still up for movies,” he said, “My relationship with Jade is just complicated.”

“Complicated how?” You didn’t want to pry, but you also really wanted to know what was going on between those two.

Dave shrugged again, “Jade and I had a… thing for a while. Jade wants it to keep going, but I don’t think I do.”

“A thing?” Screw it, you’re going to pry.

“Yeah,” Dave said, looking a little uncomfortable. “It was a sort of a ‘will they, wont they’ situation. Sometimes it seems like we might get together, but other times it’s like we’re just friends. We never really talk about it. We’ve slept together a couple of times, but it’s never been an official thing. I think I’m over it now though and I don’t know how to talk to her about it. I think I just want to be friends. But like I said, it’s impossible to tell Jade ‘no.’”

Your heart was pounding wildly, and you felt deeply conflicted. You were glad that Dave wasn’t interested in continuing his current relationship with Jade, but he was still kind of with her. Knowing that Dave could fuck a girl like that whenever he wanted made you feel laughably inadequate. Why would he settle for you if _Jade_ wasn’t even enough for him?

“Karkat,” Dave said poking your cheek.

“What?” You said, startled out of your thoughts.

“Did I make you uncomfortable? You looked like you were constipated.”

“Oh, no I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“About what?” Dave asked. You were really hoping he wouldn’t ask that.

“Nothing, just stuff. So, who’s John?” You asked, hoping he’d take the bait and let it go.

Dave gave you a look that made it obvious that he knew you were avoiding the question, but moved on anyway, “He’s Jade’s half brother and a friend. The first friend I made after moving here, actually. He was the one who gave me these,” he said, tapping an arm of his shades. “Apparently my kamina glasses made me look like a ‘doofus’ so he got me these, so I’d stop wearing them.”

Oh, so that’s what happened to his old shades. You felt weirdly jealous of a man you’d never met. Dave was so attached to his old glasses; he must have really cared about this John guy to willingly replace them.

You shouldn’t have asked about John. It was just driving home the fact that you were a tiny part of Dave’s life. He might be your everything, but you weren’t his.

“Are you alright, Karkat?” Dave asked, “I know you said you weren’t uncomfortable, but I can tell something is bothering you.”

Fuck. Fuck him for being so observant and nice.

“I’m alright, Dave. Really,” you insisted. You knew you sounded despondent, but you couldn’t muster up the energy to cover up how you were feeling.

“Okay,” Dave said, unconvinced.

“My class is going to start soon,” you said, wanting to avoid anymore questions and concern from Dave, “I should head over there now.”

“Oh, okay,” Dave said. “See you, I guess.”

“See you.”

You made your way to class with thoughts of Dave and Jade clouding your mind. You couldn’t stop picturing how he’d smiled when he saw her. Or his hands on her wide hips. Her lips on his. Their bodies intertwined.

This was so stupid. Dave said he didn’t want to sleep with her anymore, this shouldn’t be an issue. You kept thinking about how Dave could never say ‘no’ to her though. If she asked him to, he would fuck her whenever she wanted. You wished you had that ability. God, you were pathetic.

By the time you made it to the lecture hall you were absolutely miserable. You sulked down the aisle and took a seat at the back of the room. You usually sat as close to the front as you could get, but you weren’t in the mood to pay attention today.

“Jethuth Chritht, dude,” the guy beside you said with a heavy lisp. “I can _thmell_ your thelf-pity. Pull yourthelf together.”

You turned to look at him, wondering who this nosy fuck was. He was wearing blue and red 3D glasses. What the hell? What was it about you that made guys with ridiculous eyewear want to talk to you?

“My mental state is none of your damn business,” You said glaring at him.

He scoffed, “You made it my buthineth when you that bethide me reeking of inthecurity. What’th even your problem?”

“Why would I unload my pathetic personal problems on some guy I don’t know? Last I checked this isn’t a therapist’s office,” you said.

He shrugged, “Whatever dude, don’t tell me. I’ll jutht come up with my own reathon why you’re thad.”

You rolled your eyes. He can think whatever the fuck he wants, you don’t give a shit. As long as he leaves you alone you don’t care.

“Let me gueth,” he said emotionlessly, “you confethed your undying love and devotion to your cruth and were thwiftly rejected.”

You didn’t say anything. You refused to humour his bullshit.

“No, no, wait,” he said, “all your friendth hung out without you and you jutht found out.”

You continued to ignore him. This shit was _not_ helping your mood.

“Oh, no, I’ve got it,” he said, his voice still monotone, “your cruth ith in love with thomeone elthe.”

“Would you shut up?” you snapped, louder than you would have liked. You looked around to see if anyone was looking at you. Thankfully, no one was.

He cackled, “Bingo.”

“What is wrong with you?” you whisper yelled at him. “Do you pry into every stranger you meet’s personal shit or am I just lucky like that? Do you _enjoy_ making already miserable people feel even worse? Does that shit do it for you? You got a mockery boner? Careful, dude, don’t shit on me too hard or you might bust a nut in class! Wouldn’t that just be the cherry on top of this shit sundae of a day!”

He snorted, “Wow, you’re one ornery fucker, huh?”

You threw your hands up in frustration.

“Relax,” he said, “I don’t actually give a thit about your perthonal garbage, I’m jutht bored and you theemed like you’d be entertaining to roatht.”

“Great, so my dirty laundry got aired for no other reason than to give you a chuckle. Great, great, I don’t hate that at all,” you said, crossing your arms and slouching into your seat.

He snorted again, “Tho what’th your name, weirdo?”

“Well, it’s not ‘ _weirdo_ ,’” you said. “It’s Karkat.” 

“’Karkat?’” he said dubiously, “That’th the most ridiculouth name I’ve ever heard.”

“Fuck you,” you squawked indignantly. “What’s your name then if mine is so ‘ridiculouth?’ Bob? Steve?”

“Thollux,” he said, “and fuck you too.”

“ _Sollux?_ You’re calling _my_ name ridiculous when _your_ name is fucking _Sollux?_ Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. _”_

“I never thaid my name wathn’t thtupid,” he said, “jutht that yourth ith.”

“Whatever, asshole,” you said.

Despite yourself you were actually having some fun trading insults with him. You spent the rest of class roasting each other and not doing much else. It helped to take your mind off the Dave situation, which you appreciated.

At the end of class you were surprised when Sollux asked for your phone so he could give you his number. You handed it over and when you got it back you texted him a simple ‘hello’ so he would have your number too.

You think you just made a friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always, comments make my day.


	5. Chapter 5

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you just had a heart attack.

You had your hand down your pants when your phone buzzed on the nightstand next to you, scaring the shit out of you. You brought it to your face and saw that Dave had texted you. A jolt of fear shot through you. _Oh god, he knows what I’m doing_. Realizing that that was ridiculous and there was no way Dave could have known, you unlocked your phone to check the message.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 23:24 --

TG: hey dude

TG: you up?

Your mind immediately went back into the gutter. _That’s not what he meant. It’s a perfectly innocent question._

CG: YEAH, WHAT’S UP?

TG: nothing much

TG: just painfully bored

TG: like im so bored it physically hurts

TG: gonna get admitted to the hospital and theyre going to tell my mom ‘sorry ma’m theres nothing we can do. your son has a terminal case of boreditis. im afraid he only has minutes to live’

TG: and then my moms going to be like ‘oh no that’s a bummer’ and drown her sorrows in the emergency bottle of wine she carries with her at all times

TG: get it

TG: shes an alcoholic

TG: that was actually a pretty douchey thing for me to have said

TG: sorry mom

CG: DO YOU EVER STOP TALKING?

TG: very rarely

TG: so whats up?

CG: AT LEAST YOU’RE SELF AWARE.

CG: AND NOTHING REALLY, I’M PROBABLY JUST GOING TO DO HOMEWORK AND GO TO BED.

TG: well thats boring

CG: WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO INSTEAD?

CG: FAIL MY CLASSES AND STAY AWAKE FOREVER?

TG: Bp

TG: we could hang out

CG: I HAVE STUFF TO DO, DAVE.

CG: YOU KNOW, LIKE SCHOOLWORK.

CG: SO I DON’T FAIL.

TG: sigh

TG: I guess thats an acceptable reason

TG: im just so bored and youre entertaining

CG: READ A BOOK IF YOU’RE SO DESPERATE FOR SOMETHING TO DO.

TG: nah

TG: id rather bug you

TG: we really should hang out again though

TG: maybe not right now but soon

CG: FINE, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WE DO?

TG: idk man

TG: hang out

TG: shoot the shit

TG: watch a movie idk

CG: SURE, WHEN AND WHERE?

TG: cool

TG: i don’t have any classes tomorrow so im free all day

TG: as for where

TG: id love to be a gentleman and invite you over to my humble abode

TG: but i have a million siblings and none of them know how to act like normal human beings

TG: roxy would be all up in your grill making awkward sexual advances the minute you walk through the door

TG: rose would love nothing more than to have a new victim to pick apart psychologically

TG: and dirk is

TG: dirk

TG: nuff said

CG: YEAH, THAT’S FAIR.

CG: YOU COULD COME OVER TO MY PLACE?

CG: MY APARTMENT IS A TINY SHITHOLE, BUT I AT LEAST DON’T HAVE ANY SIBLINGS LIVING HERE.

CG: I DO LIVE WITH KANAYA, BUT SHE’S REALLY COOL.

TG: nice

TG: that works for me

TG: when are you free?

CG: ANYTIME AFTER 5PM.

TG: sweet wheres your class at?

TG: i could come pick you up after it

CG: ITS AT THE LECTURE HALL.

CG: CAN YOU DRIVE?

TG: yep

TG: I somehow managed to hoodwink the government into letting me have my very own death machine

TG: havent crashed yet but its only a matter of time if you ask me

CG: THANKS, THAT DOESN’T MAKE ME NERVOUS TO GET IN A CAR WITH YOU AT ALL.

TG: no worries

TG: ill make sure that when the inevitable crash happens youre not in the car

TG: man that was supposed to be a goof but it ended up being way darker than expected

TG: whoops

CG: NERD.

CG: WELL, THANKS FOR THE NEW THING I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, BUT I REALLY DO HAVE STUFF I NEED TO DO.

CG: NIGHT, DAVE.

TG: siiigh

TG: i might die in the night from boredom

TG: but okay

TG: night kat

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 00:03 --

You put your phone back down on the nightstand and took a breath. That was a weird conversation. All of your conversations with Dave were weird. But you had another date, which was nice. Wait, no, not a date. Just hanging out with a friend. As bros. Perfectly platonic. Yep.

You spent the next day anxiously awaiting the end of class. Time seemed to slow down to a snail’s pace. You kept checking the clock only to find that barely any time had passed at all.

Sollux had a field day mocking you for being so obvious about your crush, poking fun at you for acting like ‘a Japanese schoolgirl desperate for senpai to notice you.’ As much as you refuted his claims and called him an asshole you knew he wasn’t wrong. You _were_ pretty desperate for Dave’s attention.

When 5pm finally came, you speed walked out of the building, Sollux trailing behind you. Dave was standing outside leaning against a wall. When he saw you, he pushed off of it and walked over to you.

“Hey,” he said, smiling at you.

“Hey,” you said back.

Sollux caught up to you and raised an eyebrow with a smirk when he realized that he was face to face with the guy you had been obsessed with since you met him. You just hoped he wouldn’t say anything to humiliate you.

“Who’th your friend, KK?” he asked with a look you knew meant trouble.

“Uh,” you said, “Dave.”

“Yo,” Dave said. His face was unusually blank. You hadn’t seen it so expressionless since you reunited.

“Yo,” Sollux said back.

You could tell they were sizing each other up and it made you uneasy. You _really_ hoped Sollux wouldn’t say anything to Dave about your crush. He was an asshole, but you didn’t think he was _that much_ of an asshole.

“KK’th told me a lot about you,” Sollux said, “it’th almotht like you’re hith only friend or thomething.”

You elbowed him in the ribs.

“Weird,” Dave said, “he hasn’t told me anything about you.”

“Rude,” Sollux said turning to you.

Your shoulders pulled up, “What? I have a lot of shit going on. You just never came up.”

“Whatever,” Sollux said completely unbothered, “I’m gonna go thleep for the next 12 hours. thee you.”

“Bye,” you said as he turned and walked down the sidewalk away from you.

“He seems nice,” Dave said flatly.

If you didn’t know any better, you might have thought that Dave was jealous. It’d be pretty ridiculous to be jealous of Sollux though. There was no reason for him to be.

You scoffed. “Don’t be fooled, he’s an asshole.”

“’Asshole’ in the ‘I genuinely believe this guy is a douche’ way or ‘asshole’ in the ‘he’s a dick but were friends anyway’ way?” Dave asked.

“Both,” you said. “Definitely both.”

“Okay, cool,” he said. “It appears you’re a douchebag magnet.”

“Apparently. So, where’d you park?” you asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Just in the parking lot over here,” he said, pointing to the lecture hall’s lot.

“How the hell did you manage to get a space here? It’s always full.”

“I showed up early.” He said with a shrug, “Just had to come at a time when another lecture ended, and people were leaving. Swooped right in and stole the first parking spot I could get. Plus, I didn’t want to leave you waiting. They say class ends at two, but what they really mean is ‘We booked the hall until two, and class ends whenever I feel like it.’”

You laughed, “Yeah, pretty much. This prof is a stickler for using all the time he can get though.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Dave said, leading you over to his car. “Getting let out of class early damn near everyday is one of the best parts of college.”

Dave stopped next to a shitty, rusted out, red pick up.

“I can see now why you described your car as a death machine,” you said, eyeing the car suspiciously. “That thing looks like it would burst into flames if you looked at it wrong.”

Dave laughed. “Yeah, its kind of a piece of shit,” he said, patting the roof fondly, “but its my piece of shit. Bought it myself.”

He unlocked the driver side door, got in, and leaned across the bench seat to unlock the passenger side door manually.

You got in and gave Dave a bemused look. “This is the shittiest car I have ever seen.”

Dave smiled and shrugged, “Yeah. It’s a heap of garbage, but it’s grown on me, like a malignant tumour.”

Dave pulled out of the parking lot after almost running over three students who ran across the road without looking.

“God, what is it with college students? I almost kill someone everyday when I drive on campus. They just run across the road. They have places to be and if they die on the way it’s just a bonus. And they’re like lemmings! If one crosses the road, five more decide to follow after them. It’s a mess. I fucking hate driving on campus.” Dave finishes his rant with a huff. “Sorry, that was a weird tangent.”

You just looked at him, amused. “No worries. Who am I to complain about someone ranting? That would be pretty hypocritical of me.”

Dave chuckled, “Yeah, man, you’re the rant king. I shouldn’t be vying for your job like that. By the way, where am I going?”

“Oh, fuck,” you said, realizing you never told him where you live. “We’re not far, just take your next right and then keep going for a couple of minutes.”

When you arrived at your building Dave parked in the guest parking and said, “This building doesn’t have an elevator, does it?”

You looked at him, confused, “No? How did you know?”

“I can feel it in my bones. My old, creaky bones,” he said, glaring at the building as he got out of the car. “Plus, old buildings around here usually don’t have elevators. I browsed apartments near here a while ago. Decided not to move out though. Too expensive and I live too close to justify it.”

“Oh,” you said, “that makes sense.”

“What floor do you live on?” He asked.

“The sixth” you said.

Dave threw his head back and groaned dramatically.

“Oh, you don’t want to go up six flights of stairs just once for a visit? Well guess what. I have to go up six flights of stairs _every goddamned day.”_

“Yeah, yeah, you win,” Dave said despondently.

After you finally reached the sixth floor of your building, Dave bitching the entire way up, you unlocked your door and flung it open. As soon as the door opened the sounds coming from inside the apartment drifted out into the hall. From the sound of it Kanaya had an… amorous visitor.

Dave snorted. “Nice.”

“Oh, my god,” you said, hiding your face in your hands. “I forgot to tell Kanaya you were coming over after class. And I’m home earlier than usual.”

You sighed, resigned, and dragged Dave inside the apartment. You both took off your shoes and headed into your room. It was quieter in there, but you could still hear Kanaya and her… visitor. Trying to ignore it you sat down on your bed and opened your laptop.

“What do you want to watch?” You asked, logging onto Netflix.

You looked up when you felt the bed dip under Dave’s weight as he sat down, “I don’t know.”

Your heart skipped a beat and your face heated up. _Oh, god._ Dave was sitting on your bed. The same bed you lie on when you jack off to the thought of him fucking you. The same bed you imagined him fucking you into. Memories of the things you fantasized about him doing to you flashed though your mind. A wave of guilt and shame washed over you. _Fuck, you’re such a creep._

You tried and failed to steer your mind away from your decidedly unwholesome thoughts. It was pretty hard not to think about sex when you could literally hear someone having it.

“Kaaarkat,” Dave said, poking your cheek.

“What?” You said, slapping Dave’s hand away.

“Where’d you go, man? You were staring into space for a whole minute. I timed it.”

“Oh, uh, I just zoned out. It’s fine. What do you want to watch?”

“You already asked me that, dude,” Dave said, giving you an amused smirk, “I said I don’t know. I still don’t. You still like romcoms?”

“Yeah,” you said, going to the romance section, trying to distract yourself by looking at movie options. You decided to just put a random one on, needing something more to distract you.

You put down your laptop and leaned back against the headboard. Dave shifted so he was mirroring your position, his arm and thigh pressed against yours. That really didn’t help your pants problem.

For the next fifteen minutes you desperately tried to tune out what was happening in the room next door and ignore Dave’s presence beside you, his body pressed to the side of yours. You weren’t very successful. Your thoughts kept wandering back to Dave and how he was on your bed. You tried to watch the movie but anytime there was even a hint of romance on screen you would immediately start thinking about him again. It was honestly embarrassing how easily flustered you were.

You were broken out of your thoughts when Dave raised a hand, index finger pointing up and said, “Wait for it, wait for it...”

You were confused about what he was doing until you heard a scream come from Kanaya’s room and Dave said, “There it is. Good job, ladies.” He lightly clapped for them for a moment before turning to you, saying, “Damn, those girls have stamina. I’m impressed.”

You stared at him, dumbfounded. You had no idea how to respond to that.

“What?” He asked.

“Nothing, I just wasn’t sure what I was waiting for. I was a little surprised it was for my roommate’s orgasm,” you said honestly.

“Really?” He said, “They were so loud. I tried ignoring it, but I couldn’t. Eventually I just resigned myself to having to deal with it until it was over. It just kept going though. That orgasm was as much a relief for me as it was them. Well, maybe not _as much_ of a relief for me.”

“I wasn’t paying attention to it. I was watching the movie,” you said, giving him a look.

“Don’t look at me like that, man. You’d think I’d be used to overhearing people fuck by now, but apparently not.”

“Really?” You asked, “I’ve never overheard anyone fuck before.”

“Not even your brother?” Dave asked.

You couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that. “God, no. Kankri is waiting for marriage.”

“No joke?” Dave said, disbelief plain on his face.

“No joke. He’s hardcore catholic. He’s taken a vow of celibacy.”

“Huh,” Dave said, “Your brother always was… interesting.”

“You can say he’s a weirdo, I won’t be offended,” you said. Nobody knew how weird Kankri could be better than you.

Dave laughed, “Okay, he was always a little weird. Very up tight. I’m guessing he still is.”

“You have no idea,” you said. “You’d think age would mellow him out, but nope. If anything, he’s gotten worse.”

“Woof,” Dave said, “I don’t have much room to talk though. My siblings are the weirdest fucks you will ever meet. And they’re all weird in their own unique ways. Makes life interesting at least.”

“I’d like to meet them sometime,” you said without thinking. As soon as it was out of your mouth you felt weird about it. Was it weird to say you wanted to meet his family? Not if you’re just friends, no. It’s just a normal friend thing.

Dave smiled, “They’d like to meet you too.”

“You’ve told them about me?” You asked. Dave talks about you?

“Yeah, of course man,” Dave said like it was obvious, “You were my best friend when I met Rose and Roxy, so I told them stories about you all the time, and now that we’ve met back up again they’re itching to meet the mythical Karkat.”

“Huh,” you said. That makes sense. “What kind of things did you tell them?”

Dave laughed, “Oh, you know. Stuff. Things. I think I may have told them about the time you fell ass first into the creek and cried. Man, that was so fucking funny. You were so mad you refused to walk home because your butt was wet, and I had to carry you back.”

“Oh, great,” you said, blushing furiously. “At least they know what to expect; a temperamental cry baby. I can’t say I’ve changed much.”

“Nah,” Dave said with a smile, “that’s not the only kind of thing I told them about. I think I painted a pretty three-dimensional picture of you. Lots of stories about how sweet you are and how you were always sticking up for me.”

You smiled a small, shy smile. Dave thinks you’re sweet? Your heart fluttered in your chest, which you tried to ignore. “I don’t know how ‘sweet’ I am. I’m kind of an asshole,” you said, blatantly fishing for compliments.

Dave laughed again, “You can be both sweet and an asshole.”

That wasn’t exactly the response you were hoping for, but you’d take it.

You spent the rest of the night sitting beside each other, watching movies on your laptop. Well, you ‘watched’ movies. Dave talked all the way through them, a habit he never grew out of apparently, and you were too distracted by him to focus on anything else. You were surprised by the fact that Dave’s chattering wasn’t bothering you. You usually hated it when people talked through movies, but you were apparently too infatuated with him to mind.

After a fun- and embarrassingly horny- couple of hours it was late, and Dave had to head home. You were reluctant to let him go, but you both had class early the next morning. You slid off your bed, followed by Dave.

When Dave was on his feet, he reached up to stretch his back and shoulders after sitting for so long. His shirt road up, revealing a sliver skin, but it was enough for you to catch a glimpse of the V of muscle there and his happy trail disappearing below the waist of his jeans. You felt yourself blush and had to tear your eyes away before you gave yourself away. _Fuck, you’re hopeless._

You and Dave left your room and headed out into the living room. Rounding the corner, you were surprised to see a woman you didn’t know. You assumed she must be the one you overheard with Kanaya. This assumption was solidified when you noticed that she wasn’t wearing pants, just a tee shirt and a pair of lacey black panties.

“Karkat!” You heard Kanaya gasp before seeing her in the kitchen, “I thought you weren’t home.”

“Rose?” You heard Dave say behind you, sounding horrified.

_Oh._

The woman- Rose- turned to face you and Dave, trying to look unfazed, but her deep blush gave her away. “Hello, David. What are you doing here?”

“Hanging out with Karkat,” Dave said, pointing at you, still appearing disturbed. “I’d ask you the same thing, but I already overheard what you were doing.”

Rose’s blush somehow darked, and Kanaya hid her face in her hands.

“Ah,” Rose said, “so this is Karkat. It’s nice to finally meet you, though I must say, I would have preferred it to have been under different circumstances.”

“Uh, yeah, nice to meet you too,” you said awkwardly.

So, this was Dave’s twin. You were expecting her to be like Dave, but they could not have been more different. Rose held herself with poise, like she had been trained as a dancer where Dave always stood with a casual slouch. She spoke clearly and eloquently, Dave mumbled almost everything he said and half the time the words that came out of his mouth made no sense. She had an air about her that made you feel like an ant under a magnifying glass, Dave’s vibe was more relaxed, like he couldn’t care less about anything.

“Then this must be Dave,” Kanaya said, her face still red, “Karkat has told me about you, but I had no idea you were Rose’s brother. This is quite the coincidence.”

“Yep,” Dave said, looking uncomfortable, “I’m guessing you’re the girl Rose has been obsessed with lately. She talks about you constantly. I’m glad to see- or hear- that you and Rose figured things out.”

“Shut up, Dave,” Rose said, sounding embarrassed. 

“Ah, yes,” Kanaya said looking just as embarrassed as Rose. “I’m sorry about that. I thought we were home alone.”

“No worries,” Dave said with a shrug, “wasn’t the first time I overheard Rose fuck.”

“Dave!” Rose whisper yelled, her face the reddest it’d been yet.

“Jesus Christ, kill me now. This conversation is so fucking awkward,” you grumbled.

“Yes, well, Rose and I were just about to head back to my room,” Kanaya said. “Goodnight you two.”

“Goodnight,” Rose said before following Kanaya back into her bedroom.

You and Dave both nodded and said, “Night,” at the same time.

When you and Dave were alone again you looked at each other started to laugh.

“That was awful!” Dave said in an emphatic whisper. “I clapped for my sister orgasming!”

“You did!” You gasped out through your laughter, “I will _never_ let you live that down!”

“ _Nooo_ ,” he said, trying not to laugh, “let me forget!”

“Nope, sorry. It’s too good.”

“You’re mean,” Dave said, still smiling. “I should probably hit the road, though. Fuck 8am classes and whoever schedules them.”

“Agreed,” you said, “Night, Dave.”

“Night, Kat,” Dave said with a smile, ruffling your hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I post a chapter I turn into Cassandra from Dr.Who except I go "Validate me, Validate me!" lol


	6. Chapter 6

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you were sitting at your desk, trying to write an essay, when you got a text from Dave.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 12:49 --

TG: hey dude

TG: you busy?

TG: i have a thing to do and i could use some company

CG: WHAT’S THE THING?

TG: i have an assignment for my photography class

TG: i basically just have to wander around and take pictures of whatever interests me

TG: something about finding beauty in the mundane?

TG: idk

TG: point is i have to walk around and ill be bored if i have to do it alone

TG: wanna come?

CG: I DIDN’T KNOW YOU DID PHOTOGRAPHY.

CG: AND I GUESS I CAN COME AS LONG AS IT DOESN’T TAKE ALL DAY.

TG: rad

TG: ill come pick you up

TG: ttyl

CG: SEE YOU, NERD.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 12:57 --

You threw on some warm clothes and sat in the living room to wait. It was October so your Texan ass thought it was absolutely freezing out, so you weren’t very excited about going for a walk. You weren’t about to pass up an opportunity to hang out with Dave though.

You got a text from Dave a couple of minutes later that simply read:

TG: here

You quickly made your way down the six flights of stairs between you and Dave. You spotted Dave’s ancient pick up and made your way over to it.

“Hey,” you said, climbing into the car.

“Sup, dude,” Dave said, “I figured we could start our journey on campus and see where it takes us.”

“Sure,” you said as Dave pulled out of the parking lot.

Your drive was spent almost entirely in comfortable silence, a rarity when around Dave. You leaned your head against the window and watched the world zip by. You were surprised when Dave parked the car, you had been so zoned out it didn’t notice how much time had passed.

Dave pulled his keys out of the ignition and asked, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” you said before pushing open the door and hopping out. 

Dave followed after you, walking around the car to join you.

“Jesus tit-fucking Christ,” you grumbled. “Why the fuck is it so cold? It’s only October, it’s not even winter yet.”

“That’s New York for you,” Dave said with a shrug. “I wish I could say that you’ll get used to it, but I’ve lived here for five years and it still sucks ass.”

“Great,” you said sarcastically. “Remind me to get a new coat before winter hits, this shit isn’t going to cut it.”

“Will do,” Dave said, leading you down the sidewalk. “You should also get a scarf and a hat. Never underestimate what a difference they can make.”

You shook your head, “Fuck winter. Fuck places with seasons in general.”

“Agreed,” Dave said.

While you walked Dave took photos of things seemingly at random. The graffiti on the side of a dumpster, a group of birds sitting on powerlines, a leafless tree. He also snuck in quite a few photos of you when he thought you weren’t looking.

Watching Dave crouch down to get a shot of a pigeon at eye level you couldn’t help but think about how you had no idea Dave did photography. It never even struck you as the kind of thing he’d be interested in. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. One of the first things Dave told you when you saw him again was that he was considering studying film.

“There’s so many things about you I don’t know,” you said, “I sometimes feel like I don’t know you at all.”

Dave lowered his camera and turned to look at you, “That’s not true,” he said. “You probably know me better than anyone.”

You shrugged.

“Okay,” Dave said, turning back to continue photographing the pigeon he saw, “lets play twenty questions, go back to our youths. You can ask me anything you want, but you have to answer your own questions too.”

“Okay,” you said, amused, “what’s your favourite movie?” Kind of a lame one, but you couldn’t say you knew his answer.

“That’s tough,” he said, “I have a lot of favourite movies. Every Monty Python movie is a masterpiece. Airplane is pretty great too. And Naked Gun. Comedies from the seventies in general are fucking incredible.”

Huh. You wouldn’t have guessed that. It made sense though.

“Now it’s your turn,” Dave said, standing back up. “What’s your favourite movie?”

“I have a lot of favourites too. Maybe You’ve Got Mail? Or The Notebook. Oh, but 10 Things I Hate About You is also really good. And Pretty Woman. And 13 Going On 30. And When Harry Met Sally is fucking excellent.”

“’I’ll have what she’s having,’” Dave said with a smirk. “My turn. What’s your weirdest hobby or habit?”

“Oh, fuck,” you said. You had to think about that one. “I bite stuff when I’m frustrated? That’s pretty weird.”

Dave laughed, “Kinda, yeah. I think I can remember you biting me a couple of times when we were kids. My weirdest thing is way weirder though.”

“Hit me,” you said, excited to learn something new about him.

“I collect roadkill.”

You were not expecting that. “You what?”

“I collect roadkill.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

Dave shrugged, “I’m a morbid fuck who likes dead things. Like I’ll lay them out in the backyard and let them decompose and once they’re nothing but bones I collect them, clean them up , and put them back together again.”

“That’s super creepy, Dave,” you said. “Are you sure you don’t want to be a paleontologist? That shit seems right up your alley.”

“I might still be one,” Dave said, “I just haven’t decided yet. It’s your turn again”

This was going to be a much different game than you were expecting. “What do you think is the most likely crime you would get arrested for?”

“Oh, an excellent question,” Dave said. He walked towards a bench nearby making an exaggerated thinking face. “Hmm. Trespassing maybe? Or insider trading.”

“The fuck? Why?” You asked.

“Trespassing because I’d probably see a cool dead thing somewhere and wander over there to get it without realizing its private property. And someone would definitely call the cops if they saw a strange man on their property hauling off dead animals. They’d be like ‘get off my lawn!’ and I’d be like ‘hold up, gimme a second. You have a sweet raccoon corpse out here that I want to add to my collection.’ And they’d be like ‘you’re going to jail, you fucking weirdo,’ and I’d be like ‘yeah, that’s fair.’”

“Most definitely,” you said, trying not to laugh.

“And insider trading because I fuck around on the stock market a bunch and I’d probably sell my stocks in something if someone tipped me off that shit was going to go under. Not allowed to do that though.”

“I didn’t know you invested in stock,” you said, surprised.

Dave shrugged, “I haven’t been doing it for long because you have to be eighteen to buy stock, but I figured ‘why not?’ I’ll try anything once, especially if I can make money off it. Your turn. What would you get arrested for?”

“Probably second-degree murder,” you said nonchalantly.

Dave laughed, “That’s awfully specific. Care to explain?”

“I imagine there will come a day when someone pisses me off so badly, I go into a rage and murder them by accident. Second degree murder means you meant to hurt them, but not kill them.”

“Ah,” Dave said, “I could totally see that happening. My turn again. What could I ask that would top that? I don’t know if there’s anything. Whatever, what’s your biggest pet peeve?”

“I have so many, how am I supposed to choose one?” You asked jokingly. “Probably when people make fun of someone for caring about something. That pisses me off like nothing else can.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the worst,” Dave said. “Mine is probably when people try to decide what someone can or can’t do for them. Like when people say things like, ‘you can’t wear pink, you’re a boy, boys can’t wear pink.’ Like, who the fuck asked you? Nobody, shut up.” Dave took a couple of pictures of the bench at different angles before moving on.

“Agreed, I fucking hate that. What quality about yourself are you the most proud of?”

“Another good question, you’re just cranking them out today. Hmm. I don’t know. What do you think my best quality is?” Dave asked.

You blushed. You could talk for hours about all of Dave’s wonderful qualities. “I’m not sure,” you said, “you have a lot of good qualities.”

Dave blushed a little at that, a shy smile on his face.

“You’re witty, creative, patient, openminded, kind. So fucking kind.” The more you said the deeper Dave blushed. It was cute so you decided to keep going. “You’re funny too. You’ve almost made me piss myself from laughing so hard. You’re wicked smart too. I firmly believe that you could do anything you wanted to. You’re always impressing me.”

Dave’s face was beet red, “Geez, dude. I would have just said something like ‘I’m tall.’ You really went above and beyond there.” He looked shy and embarrassed but pleased too. “Get ready, dude, cause you’re about to get as good as you gave.

“Oh, no,” you said.

“Oh, yes, my dude. You’re probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. I know you think you’re an asshole, but you’re not. You’re so sweet, and generous, and compassionate. You’re a great friend and I’m so fucking glad to have found you again. You were what got me through when we were kids and I missed you so fucking badly when I moved. I made new friends, but they never compared to you. And you’re cute as a goddamn button so that doesn’t hurt,” Dave said, continuing to take pictures, never looking at you through his complimentary barrage.

It was your turn to blush. You could feel how hot your face was and tears were threatening to rise in your eyes. “Fuck, Dave. You can’t just say such nice shit about me like that,” you said covering your face. “You’re going to make me cry. What then Dave? What then? What will you do with a weepy Karkat on your hands?”

Dave laughed, “Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” You felt Dave pat you on the shoulder, “Please don’t cry though, I’m terrible at comforting people when they cry.”

You laughed, “I’m okay, I’m good,” you said pulling your hands away from your face. “You’re forbidden from saying anymore nice shit about me. I’m too soft for that.”

Dave smiled, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to follow that new rule. It’s too fun to make you flustered. You look like a tomato when you blush.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” you said in mock outrage, “I might look like a tomato, but you look like a fucking beet.”

“Alright,” Dave said, putting his hands up in surrender, “we both turn into produce when we’re complimented, I can live with that. Its my turn. Uh… this is pretty fucking basic, but what’s your favourite animal?”

“I don’t know,” you said, “I’m not sure if I have one. Maybe hermit crabs? They’re weird and cute.”

“Just like you,” Dave said, pulling his shades down just enough to wink at you.

You rolled your eyes at his teasing. “What’s yours?”

“Crows,” Dave said, taking a picture of a crowd of strangers. “I love crows. I actually have a couple of crow friends. They hang out in my backyard, waiting for me to bring roadkill home. They know me now, so they sometimes bring me gifts. Little shiny things like coins and wrappers, mostly.””

“That’s so fucking cute,” you said. “What’s your favourite dinosaur?”

“Shit, man,” Dave said, taking a photo of monument, “that’s like asking a parent to pick a favourite child. But, much like parents, I do have a favourite. Nodosaurus. Hands down. It’s so fucking cool, dude. They found a nodosaurus mummy- not a fossil, a _mummy-_ and it’s fucking incredible. It’s so well preserved you can see the texture of its skin! It has _skin!_ It’s at the very top of my bucket list to see it in person someday. I’d cry, dude. I’d straight up cry.”

You smiled at him, painfully endeared, “Nerd.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dave said dismissively, “what’s _your_ favourite dino?”

“Uh,” you said, forgetting that you had to answer that question too, “pterodactyls? I guess? I don’t know, I’m not really into dinosaurs, but they seem cool.”

Dave shook his head, not looking at you, “’Not into dinosaurs.’ Blasphemous,” he mumbled.

“We can’t all be nerds, Dave,” you said, smiling at him. “It’s your turn.”

“Hmm,” Dave said, looking around for something else to photograph, “what do you miss most about home?”

“My dad,” you said, “100% my dad.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Dave said, settling on a faded billboard to take pictures of.

“What about you?” you asked, “What do you miss the most?”

“Well, my answer used to be you,” Dave said absentmindedly, “but since you’re here now I guess I’ll say fried okra. Its impossible to find up here.”

You blushed at Dave’s seemingly unintentional compliment. Was that a compliment? Whatever. “Yeah, it is.”

“Your turn,” Dave said, turning to you and snapping a quick picture of your surprised face.

You flipped Dave off and he took a picture of that too. “Favourite childhood memory,” You said.

“Hmm,” Dave hummed again, “It’s not a specific memory, but I’ll say it was the sleepovers we had as kids.”

“Yeah” You said with a smile, “they were pretty fucking great.”

“10/10 would recommend,” Dave said. “We should have a good ol’ fashion sleepover sometime.”

“We should,” you said.

“Now you, what’s your favourite childhood memory?” Dave asked, moving on to take a picture of the pennies at the bottom of a nearby fountain.

“Meeting you,” you said, smiling at him.

“Really?” He said, looking up at you.

“Yeah. You were so blushy and cute.”

“I was so fucking nervous,” he said, shaking his head at himself. “I’m honestly amazed I managed to talk to you at all.”

“I’m glad you did,” you said smiling at him.

Dave smiled back at you, “Me too.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Dave's abuse is discussed

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you are worried sick.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 18:12 --

TG: hey

TG: do you have a minute?

TG: i need to talk to someone and id like for it to be you

CG: YEAH, OF COURSE.

CG: WHAT’S UP?

CG: ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

TG: uh

TG: not really tbh

TG: i was just in class and i got a call

TG: apparently my bro/dad died

TG: im kinda fucked up about it and im weirdly mad that I care at all

TG: he was kinda the worst

TG: if you can remember

CG: FUCK, I’M SORRY, DAVE.

CG: IT’S OKAY TO BE UPSET, EVEN IF HE WAS A PIECE OF SHIT.

CG: AND I DEFINETELY REMEMBER WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT HE WAS, TRUST ME.

TG: my brain knows that but my heart is pissed

TG: im kind of a mess right now

TG: im still at school

TG: literally just got off the phone

CG: DO YOU WANT TO COME OVER?

TG: yeah

TG: beats crying like a loser in the hall

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 18:23 --

You paced your living room, nervously waiting for Dave. You weren’t sure you would do a very good job of helping him through this. He chose you though, so you were going to do everything in your power to make him feel better. You just hoped you wouldn’t make things worse.

After fifteen minutes of anxious pacing you heard a knock at your door. You swung it open and saw an unusually disheveled Dave. He always looked so put together, but right now he really did look like a mess.

“Come on,” you said, gesturing him inside, doing your best to seem compassionate.

Instead of walking inside like you’d expected, Dave pulled you into a hug, leaning down to hide his face in your shoulder. You were surprised for a moment before wrapping your arms around him. Your shoulder ached where Dave’s shades were pressing into it, but you ignored it.

“It’s okay,” you whispered into his hair. You placed one hand on the back of his head, stroking him like a cat in an attempt to be soothing.

Dave just stood and held you. He didn’t move, he didn’t even seem to breathe. After what felt like an eternity of you petting Dave’s hair and telling him that he was alright, his arms loosened around you and he straightened up.

“Sorry about that,” Dave said looking embarrassed.

“None of that,” you said, “come on.”

You grabbed his hand and pulled him through the apartment and into your room. You didn’t let go of his hand until you were both sitting on your bed.

You both sat there in silence for a moment before Dave said, “Man, fuck this,” and took off his shades. He held them in his lap, staring at them. He had a scar bisecting his left eyebrow that you’d never noticed before.

“This is such bullshit,” he mumbled.

“What is?” You asked when he didn’t elaborate.

“Everything. All of this,” he said. “It’s all bullshit. I’m so fucking annoyed.”

“Why?” You asked quietly. Dave didn’t usually get annoyed. It was rare for things to get under his skin at all. You didn’t know how to navigate it.

“It’s just-“ he started before cutting himself off. “I shouldn’t be upset. I shouldn’t be anything right now. I _should_ be perfectly fine. Hell, I should be glad. Fuck that guy, right? He was just an asshole who made me miserable, why should I give a shit that he died?”

You didn’t say anything. You figured Dave just needed to rant for a while, let it all out.

“And yet!” He said, “I feel bad. What the fuck is up with that? The guy didn’t have a single redeeming quality, he doesn’t deserve for anyone to mourn him. He was _such_ a bastard. You don’t even know half the shit he did. Did you know he would literally try to kill me on the reg? Cause he did.”

You heart dropped. _What? That must be hyperbole._

But then Dave his lifted his shirt and you saw evidence that it wasn’t. He was covered in scars. Absolutely covered. Most of them looked like they’d been caused by a knife.

“This one,” Dave said, pointing to a particularly long scar, running from his ribs on the left to just above his bellybutton, “Was from when I wasn’t fast enough to block him when was eleven. Did I mention he was obsessed with swords? Cause he was.”

You felt like you were going to be sick. You remembered when Dave was eleven. There was a week when he didn’t show up to school, he said he had the flu. It was an awful week for you, but it was apparently far worse for Dave.

“And this one,” Dave said, running his finger along a thick, jagged scar on his hip, “Was the first one I had to stitch up by myself. Did a shit job, obviously.”

You were horrified. He had to give himself stitches? Why? Why couldn’t he go to a hospital? As soon as you’d had the thought you’d realized why. No one could find out.

Dave moved his arm in front of himself and pulled up his sleeve to show you the cap of his shoulder. “This,” Dave said, pointing to a thin white scar that stretched from the top of his shoulder down to the middle of his upper arm, “is from when Bro just plain got the jump on me. Didn’t even see him coming.”

Tears rose to your eyes and your lip began to tremble. You didn’t want to let yourself cry, but there was no stopping it.

“Don’t even get me started on my back. It looks like someone played tic tac toe back there,” Dave said casually. “Explaining this shit is always so awkward. After a while I just stopped taking my shirt off for sex. It wasn’t a very good look, but it was better than having to deal with the questions I’d get if I did.”

You didn’t say anything to that. You didn’t know what you _could_ say to that.

“I actually convinced one girl I was mauled by a bear. That was kind of funny though.” He seemed to have calmed down some, which was good.

Dave looked at you for the first time since he’d started his rant. You apparently looked just as horrified as you felt, face crumpled up and tears on your cheeks, because he said, “Oh, fuck. I freaked you out. I’m sorry about that. I know this shit is disturbing.” He pulled his shirt back down, looking guilty for telling you the things he did.

“No, no, Dave, it’s alright,” you said trying to keep your voice level. “I’m glad you told me, I’m just sorry it happened to you. I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

“I didn’t want you to, Kat,” Dave said, placing a hand on your knee. “I tried really hard to make sure you never did. You did anyway, though.” He tapped under his eye then.

“Yeah,” you said sadly, “I’m sorry, Dave. I should have told someone.”

“It’s okay,” Dave said, looking at you compassionately. “You kept your promise.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

Dave shrugged, “You were just a kid, you didn’t know any better.”

You knew there was no point trying to argue with him, but you still felt terrible.

Dave poked your forehead and said, “Nuh-uh, I know that look. That’s your ‘I hate myself’ look. Stop it.”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help smiling a little at that. Whenever Dave showed how well he knew you it made your stupid heart happy. It didn’t stop the tears from falling though.

Dave cupped your face in his hands then. “Don’t cry, Kat. It’s okay,” he said, swiping his thumbs under your eyes to wipe away the tears there. “I know it sucks, but I’m alright.”

You nodded, trying to pull yourself together.

Dave suddenly looked nervous, “Um,” he said, lowering his hands, “This is awkward, but could I stay here tonight? I don’t really want to go home. I don’t want to deal with my siblings right now.”

“Yeah, of course,” you said. You would give Dave anything he asked for right now.

“Cool,” Dave said, “thanks.”

“Do you have class tomorrow?”

“No, tomorrow’s my free day.”

“Okay, good,” You said, rubbing your palms over your face to erase the evidence of your breakdown, “Cause we’re going to have fun. We’re going to have a good time on the day that bastard died! Let’s celebrate! It’s the ultimate ‘fuck you!’”

Dave smiled, “I can get on board with that.”

“Good,” you said. “We can have a real sleepover. Let’s eat junk food and paint each other’s nails, the whole nine yards.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Dave said. “Rose always used to paint my nails. Whenever she wanted to chat, she’d pull out the nail polish. I’m actually really good at painting people’s nails now.”

“Huh,” you said, “I didn’t paint you as the nail polish type. See what I did there?”

“Yes, you’re very clever,” Dave said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “I wasn’t into it at first, but Rose wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and it grew on me after a while.”

“I’m sure Kanaya has some,” you said as you got off the bed.

Dave gave you a half smile, “We’re doing this.”

“We’re making this happen,” you said as you left the room and walked over to Kanaya’s room. You knocked and Kanaya quickly opened the door.

“Yes?” Kanaya said as she put an earring in, “I’m sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush. I’m going to see Rose soon.”

“Oh, okay,” you said, “I was just wondering if you had any nail polish I could borrow?”

Kanaya stopped and looked at you strangely, “Since when do you paint your nails? Never mind, I don’t have time to talk. I have a bag of nail polish under the sink in the bathroom.”

“Okay, thanks,” you said, leaving her to get ready. Sure enough, there was a grocery bag filled with nail polish bottles. You grabbed the entire thing and brought it back to your room. You climbed back onto the bed and placed the bag between you and Dave. “Apparently Kanaya is going to see your sister.”

Dave nodded, “Rose probably did the same thing I did then.”

You were hoping you could keep Dave’s mind off of the situation at hand, but you ended up bringing him right back to it. In an obvious attempt to distract him you said, “ Pick a colour!” and grabbed your laptop off of your nightstand to find a movie to watch. Dave snorted but started looking through the bag. He predictably pulled out a red polish.

“Is red still your favourite colour?” You asked.

“Yeah, is it still yours?” He asked you back.

“Yeah,” you said smiling up at him. You then went back to looking for a movie because the smile Dave was giving you was making you blush. “What should we watch?”

“The little Mermaid,” Dave said. “Seems appropriate doesn’t it?”

You smiled at him again, “It does.”

You watched _The Little Mermaid_ while you painted Dave’s nails. You did a godawful job, but Dave didn’t mind. He said it added character, made it look like he’d ‘gouged somebody’s eyes out or something.’ You were surprised when it got to the first song of the movie and Dave knew every word, singing along enthusiastically. He insisted you sing along with him during the next song.

“Don’t act like you don’t know the words,” he said.

The next song came on when Dave was painting your nails the same red you painted his. He sang loudly without looking up from your nails. Every time there was a pause in the song, he’d bug you to sing with him. You eventually gave in and quietly sang along.

Your voice was rough, and it sounded just as unpracticed as it was. Dave’s voice on the other hand was clear and confident. The fact that he was apparently an excellent singer just made your crush on him even worse.

When Dave finished painting your nails, they were smooth and even, no streaks and nothing on your skin. It just made what you did to him look even shittier than it already did. At the end of the movie Dave suggested replicating the movie marathon you had all those years ago. You agreed and started looking for _Aladdin._ Before you started the movie though you got up and made popcorn and got drinks.

When you got back to your room Dave was sitting on your bed, just wearing his shirt and boxers. You raised your eyebrows and Dave said, “What? I’m not going to spend a movie marathon in jeans. That’s just unacceptable.”

You shrugged, understanding his logic, and sat back on your bed. You noticed that Dave’s legs had scars on them too. You tried not to look at them. You felt like you might cry if you thought about them for even a moment too long.

Halfway through the movie Dave laid down on his back and propped his head up on folded arms. You decided ‘screw it’ and laid down next to him, pulling your laptop up to sit on your stomach, making it easier to see in your new position.

You spent the rest of Aladdin lying down, side by side. Dave continued to sing along, but only to his favourite song and much quieter than before. You were surprised by how at ease you felt, stretched out with Dave.

Lying down was making you sleepy though and when you looked over at Dave you realized that he must have thought so too because he was asleep. Not wanting to wake him you closed your laptop and put it aside.

As nice as it was, you felt awkward about sleeping next to him. You didn’t know what to do. Should you leave? Maybe you should sleep on the couch? Or maybe Kanaya’s room? Your wondering was interrupted, though, when Dave rolled over, onto is stomach and threw an arm across you.

You didn’t have any choice but to stay now. Realistically you knew that you could probably slip out from under Dave’s arm without waking him, but you were pretty happy where you were. You liked having Dave pressed up against you, his arm around you. It was nice and you decided to let yourself have this. You knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep though.

Throughout the night Dave kept shifting closer and closer to you, eventually wrapping a leg around you and dropping his head onto your chest. You were surprised your pounding heart wasn’t loud enough to wake him. You knew from your childhood sleepovers that Dave was a sleep cuddler, but it was so much different experiencing it as adults. You were embarrassingly horny from having his body on yours and your prediction was correct; you didn’t sleep at all that night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: yet more discussions of Dave's abuse. And Bro's shittiness in general.

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you are freaking out.

You were lying in bed, not having slept at all, with Dave Strider wrapped around you like a koala. Your heart had been pounding all night, unable to calm down because every time you started to get used to having Dave beside you, he would move. He would nuzzle his face into your neck, or squeeze you with the arm that was around you, or he would move the leg he had draped over yours.

As the sun began to rise your heart started pounding for a new reason though. You could feel Dave’s dick against your hip. You had no idea what to do. You were just lying there, trying not to think about how Dave definitely had a boner, and it was touching you. You did not succeed, of course.

You tried to distract yourself by thinking about assignments you had due; which one you should do first, what points you should make in your essay, what topic you should do for a presentation. It was starting to work too when your mind was dragged back into the gutter by Dave grinding his dick against your hip. You tensed up, not knowing what else to do. Dave pulled you against him harder with the arm he had around your waist and ground into your hip again. He kept up a slow, steady pace of languidly rubbing up against you while you screamed internally.

You felt like you should do something. Maybe you should wake him up? But he would be so embarrassed. You figured he would be embarrassed either way though.

“Dave,” you whispered.

Dave groaned back in response.

Oh, fuck. You were going to have to wake him up before you got any hornier than you already were.

“Dave,” you said, louder this time.

Dave groaned back again.

“Dave,” you said, wiggling back and forth, trying to shake him awake.

“Hmm?” Dave said, sounding half asleep. His grinding stopped at least.

“Wake up,” you said, still trying to be quiet for some reason.

“Why?” He grumbled.

“Your dick is on me.”

Dave shot awake then, “Oh, god! I’m so sorry,” he said, scooting away from you.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said. You hoped your face wasn’t as red as it felt.

Dave hid his face in his hands. You could see that his ears and neck were red.

“Uuugh,” Dave said, “I’m so sorry, Kar. I’m so fucking embarrassed.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it, really,” you said. You just wanted this moment to end. It was all so awkward.

Dave stood up, covering his crotch with his hands and said, “I’m just going to go deal with this.” He looked like wished he could disappear, his face the reddest you’d ever seen it.

He walked out of the room then. You considered taking care of your own pants problem but decided against it. It was way too risky.

Dave came back into the room a few minutes later, blushing just as deeply as he was when he left. “Well, this has been humiliating.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you said for the third time that morning.

“I just hope you know that wasn’t intentional. Morning wood and all that. It was completely involuntary. I wouldn’t have been rubbing my dick all over you without your permission like that if I had any say in it.” 

“I know, Dave. It’s fine,” you said. You got it. He wouldn’t let his dick get anywhere near you if he could help it. He made that perfectly clear. He wasn’t interested. It was fine. “Lets just get breakfast, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he said, still blushing.

After getting dressed you decided to go out for breakfast. You walked down the street to a little coffee shop you liked to drink coffee and eat pastries. You were both trying so hard not to be awkward that it made things awkward. You eventually loosened up but the first hour or so was just painful.

After breakfast Dave decided that it was time to face his siblings and you were glad you would have some time to take a nap before you class started. You didn’t tell Dave, but you were exhausted from not sleeping all night.

Dave texted you later that day to let you know that everything with his siblings went fine, he was just being dramatic. They were all supportive and generally avoided the topic of their bro/dad’s death entirely. They probably didn’t want to talk about it anymore than Dave did.

You couldn’t stop thinking about the things Dave told you, the scars he showed you. It made your worries about your stupid crush feel so petty and pathetic. You hadn’t thought about anything besides whether Dave liked you back or not for months, but you barely knew him anymore. You thought you did. You thought you were bridging the gap between when you were kids and now, but there was still so much you didn’t know.

Hell, you barely even knew him back then either. He had been going through such terrible things and you had no idea. The worst you thought he had to deal with was the occasional black eye, but it was so much worse than that.

Even though Dave told you not to beat yourself up about not telling anyone when you were kids you couldn’t help it. You could have prevented so much of his suffering, but you did nothing. You felt guilty for not doing anything, and even more guilty for making Dave’s trauma about you. You just couldn’t win. You were glad that he trusted you so much, but you still felt like a terrible friend.

Terrible or not, you were his friend. That’s what Dave wanted you to be, so that’s what you would be. But you wanted more. You wanted him. But you couldn’t let yourself have him.

Later that same week you and Dave were sitting in the cafeteria, eating lunch and killing time between classes. Dave was chattering on about some dinosaur thing that you couldn’t follow. His ramblings were so jargon heavy you had no idea what he was talking about.

Your mind inevitably started to wander. You ended up thinking about Dave’s childhood again. It had been on your mind almost constantly these days. You still had so many questions, but you didn’t know how to bring them up without ruining Dave’s day. The question that had been plaguing your mind the most had been ‘why did he move away so suddenly?’

“Hey, Dave?” You said when Dave took a moment to breath.

“Yeah?” He said.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, man. What’s up?”

You weren’t sure how to start, so you decided to just be direct, “Why did you move? I know you said it was because of custody stuff, but what happened?”

Dave obviously wasn’t expecting that. He tensed slightly and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Guess I never did tell you, huh? Fair warning, it’s pretty fucked. Are you sure you want to know?” 

“Yeah,” you said. You were afraid of what Dave was going to tell you, but you needed to know.

“Well,” Dave said, “long story short, my Bro got arrested. Someone must have tipped off the cops that he was a piece of rancid garbage who was into all kinds of illegal shit, so they raided the apartment one day when Dirk and I were at school. That place was rife with incriminating shit, so he was pretty much fucked. My mom was my next of kin, so she got custody of me, and Dirk came with cause he didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“What was he arrested for?” You asked, hoping you wouldn’t regret it.

“Oh, boy, lets see,” Dave said before counting out on his fingers, “possession of explosives, illegal possession of deadly weapons, assault on a minor, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, possession of child pornography, production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, the list goes on. Point is, he was a really bad dude.”

You definitely regretted it. You were horrified. You knew Dave’s Bro was a piece of shit, but you had no idea _how bad_ he was. You didn’t know what to say. What could you say?

“I warned you bro, I told you about the fucked-up-ness,” Dave voice was light and teasing, but his face looked concerned and uncomfortable.

“I’m so sorry, Dave,” You said, trying to hold back tears, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Kar,” Dave said, reaching out to take one of your hands in his. “It was a long time ago.”

You laughed humourlessly, “That doesn’t make it any less fucked up.”

“No, but it does make it easier to deal with,” Dave said with a shrug. 

You dropped your head into the hand Dave wasn’t holding, “I’m so sorry, Dave. I had no idea.”

“I know, Kat,” Dave said, rubbing his thumb along your knuckles, “I didn’t want you to know. I knew how much it would upset you. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything?”

“No, no,” You said, looking up at him, “I’m glad you told me. I hate that it happened, but I’m glad you told me.”

Your heart hurt and was numb at the same time. You felt so empty, so helpless, so powerless. You wanted to make everything better for Dave, to keep him safe, but you couldn’t because it already happened. There was nothing you could do, and you hated it. 

“Kar,” Dave said gently, “it’s okay, dude. It was years ago, and I’ve had a fuck-ton of therapy. I’m fine.”

Dave shouldn’t be the on trying to comfort you right now. God, why do you have to make everything about you? It’s Dave’s trauma, not yours. You’re such an ass.

Dave poked your forehead, “You’re doing your ‘I hate myself’ face again.”

You grabbed the hand that Dave was poking you with and pulled it down to the table. “I just wish I could have done something. I hate that you had to live through that. I’m sorry I’m making this about me. I shouldn’t be, you shouldn’t be feeling bad for me.”

“Don’t feel bad for feeling bad, Kat. You’re not a garbage person for being upset. You aren’t making this about you, you’re just processing some shitty news. It makes sense that you’re sad, I would be too if you told me this shit. You’re fine, Kat. I’m fine too. It’s an old wound, it barely even hurts anymore. Okay?”

“Okay,” you said. You still didn’t feel very okay, but you could pull yourself together for Dave.

“Okay,” Dave said, “now let’s go get ice cream and avoid any and all depressing topics for the rest of the day.”

You gave him a small smile and said, “Sure, why not.”


	9. Chapter 9

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you don’t deserve the title of ‘Romance Expert.’

It was one of the rare Fridays where you weren’t hanging out with Dave. Instead, you were with Sollux. He lived in a dorm on campus so the two of you walked over after class.

He was sitting at his desk playing a video game you didn’t know the name of. You were sprawled out on his bed, talking about _feelings_. Sollux didn’t give two shits about what you were saying which made him the perfect person to ramble to. You didn’t have to worry that he’d repeat anything you told him because he didn’t care enough to remember any of it.

“Like, I like him, obviously, but I can’t do anything about it! It sucks! Every time I’m around him I just want to grab his face and kiss him, but if I do that our relationship is over! There’s _no way_ he likes me the way I like him. He’s so cute, and nice, and funny and I’m… me.”

“Mhm.”

“And I _know_ I’m not the only person who likes him. People make eyes at him constantly! His friend Jade likes him and she’s hot as hell! And they’ve already slept together! He says he’s not interested in being in a relationship with her, but still. She’s so much better than me in every way, so why would he settle for me when he has options like her?”

“Mhm.”

“I wish I could just ask him. Be like ‘hey, Dave, do you like me? Like romantically? Not that I like _you_ romantically or anything. Just curious.’ I want to know but I don’t want to show my hand, you know? I don’t want him to know how much I like him.”

“Mhm.”

“I mean, I fucking _love_ him! This is so pathetic. I’d always see shit like this in movies and books and think, ‘They’re so stupid. Why don’t they just talk to each other? None of this would be happening if they just pulled up their big boy pants and communicated. I’ll never be in that situation because I’m not a mind addled toddler with the emotional intelligence of a spoon.’ But here we are!”

“Mhm.”

“This suuuucks!”

“Mhm.”

“Is that all you know how to say? Just ‘mhm’?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re the worst.”

“Mhm.”

Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you pulled it out with a groan.

“Oh, shit it’s Dave,” you said.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 20:42 --

TG: hey dude

TG: wanna hang out?

TG: my class just let out

CG: OH,

CG: SORRY, DAVE.

CG: I CAN’T.

CG: I’M AT SOLLUX’S PLACE RIGHT NOW.

TG: oh

TG: thats cool

TG: totally rad

TG: whatre you guys up to?

CG: NOTHING REALLY.

CG: SOLLUX IS PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AND I’M JUST LYING ON HIS BED RAMBLING AT HIM.

TG: sounds like a good time

TG: whatre you rambling about?

“Uh…” you said out loud.

“What?” Sollux asked. “Things not going well with your boytoy?”

“He’s not my ‘boytoy.’ I just spent the past twenty minutes wailing about how he doesn’t like me like that.”

“I wasn’t listening,” he said with a shrug.

You sighed, “I know. He just asked what we were talking about and it’s not like I can say, ‘Oh, you know. Just ranting about how I’m in love with you but you don’t feel the same way and that makes me want to fling myself off a cliff, nbd.’”

Sollux snorted.

“Okay, fuck you,” you said, going back to your phone.

TG: helloooo

TG: earth to karkat

TG: is it embarrassing?

TG: were you talking about your feeeelings?

TG: dont worry dude I already know all about your gooey center

TG: youre like a cadbury crème egg your center is so gooey

TG: crack you open and instead of blood and guts and stuff youre filled with nasty sugar glue

TG: seriously what even is that shit?

TG: i ate glue as a kid and lemme tell you

TG: eerily similar in the texture department

TG: man at least when you eat glue you feel something other than disappointment

CG: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

TG: oh hey

TG: youre back

TG: whered you go man?

CG: SORRY.

CG: I WAS JUST TALKING TO SOLLUX.

TG: oh

TG: rad

TG: hows that been?

CG: FINE.

CG:IT’S MOSTLY ME TALKING AND HIM GOING ‘MHM’ THOUGH.

TG: fun fun

TG: so whats up with you guys?

TG: you like

TG: a thing or something?

“Ew,” you said.

“Hmm?” Sollux hummed.

“He just asked if we’re together,” you said. “I am repulsed.”

Sollux gagged, “oh god, I just threw up in my mouth a little.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

CG: I JUST HAD TO TAKE A SECOND TO VOMIT REAL QUICK.

CG: NO, WE ARE NOT ‘A THING’.

CG: THE VERY CONCEPT IS REPUGNANT TO ME.

TG: oh

TG: okay cool

TG: I was just wondering

“He seems glad that we’re not together. I think? That’s good right?” you asked.

Sollux just shrugged.

You sighed, “You’re useless.”

CG: YEAH, NO.

CG: SOLLUX IS JUST A FRIEND.

CG: PLUS HE’S ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP.

CG: TWO RELATIONSHIPS ACTUALLY.

CG: HE’S POLY AND ISN’T LOOKING TO ADD TO HIS THRUPLE.

TG: oh okay cool

TG: Jades poly

CG: SHE IS?

CG: HUH.

CG: HAVE YOU SEEN HER LATELY?

TG: yeah

TG: I hung out with her the other day

“Oh, god. He hung out with that super hot girl he’s friends with benefits with the other day. They probably fucked. I don’t have a chance,” you whined.

“Yeah, probably,” Sollux said absently.

“How can I ask if he fucked her without it being weird?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”

CG: OH, NICE.

CG: DID YOU HAVE FUN?

TG: yeah it was pretty fun

TG: we watched beast stars

TG: cause ya know

TG: jades a furry

CG: REALLY?

TG: yeah man

TG: shes been into that shit for as long as ive known her

TG: which is a pretty long time

CG: HUH.

CG: I WOULDN’T HAVE GUESSED THAT.

CG: SO DID YOU FUCK HER?

“Oh god, why did I send that?” you groaned.

“Send what?” Sollux asked.

“’So did you fuck her,’” you read back

Sollux laughed, “Very tactful, very smooth. He won’t suspect a thing.”

TG: uh

TG: no?

TG: i mean

TG: i get why youd think that

TG: but no

TG: i already decided i didnt want to keep sleeping with her

TG: we kinda talked about it?

TG: i think?

TG: we mostly danced around it

TG: but i think she got what i meant

CG: WELL THAT’S GOOD.

“This conversation is so awkward I want to die,” you said.

“If you do make sure to go outside first. I don’t want to deal with your corpse.”

“Thanks, you’re so supportive,” you said rolling your eyes. “I need to change the subject, or I’ll spontaneously combust from shame.”

CG: WANNA HANG OUT TOMORROW?

CG: SINCE I’M BUSY TODAY?

TG: sure

TG: i’m always up for hanging out with you dude

CG: COOL.

CG: WE CAN WATCH THAT THING YOU’VE BEEN BADGERING ME ABOUT.

TG: oh fuck yeah

TG: itll be great

TG: I cant believe you haven’t seen it

TG: who the fuck hasnt seen the room?

TG: karkat vantas apparently

CG: YEAH, CAUSE I PREFER TO WATCH MOVIES THAT ARE *GOOD*.

TG: dont make me laugh dude

TG: good?

TG: says the guy whos watched good luck chuck 100 times

TG: you have a 50 first dates poster in your room dude

TG: you wouldnt know a *good* movie if it waved its ass in your face

TG: twerking an inch away from your peepers

TG: dummy thick ass cheeks clapping

CG: THANKS FOR THE MENTAL IMAGE.

TG: youre welcome

CG: I WILL ADMIT THAT THOSE TWO MOVIES AREN’T THE BEST.

CG: BUT THEY’RE BETTER THAN THE GARBAGE YOU LIKE.

CG: AT LEAST THE MOVIES I WATCH HAVE COHERENT PLOTS.

TG: i think you spelt predictable wrong

TG: or was it cliché that you were trying to spell?

CG: I WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO SPELL ‘FUCK YOU’.

CG: WHY IS IT THAT YOU DON’T CAPITALIZE OR PUNCTUATE ANYTHING BUT YOU DO THE FANCY E THING?

TG: im french dude

TG: i cant just leave off l’accent aigu

TG: its sacrilege 

CG: SINCE WHEN ARE YOU FRENCH?

TG: uh

TG: since I was born?

TG: my moms french dude

TG: like her last name is lalonde

TG: thats as french as it gets

TG: apparently my name was lalonde too for a while

TG: my bro/dad changed it to strider when he took me

CG: HUH.

CG: I DIDN’T KNOW THAT.

CG: IT’S NOT LIKE YOU CAN SPEAK FRENCH THOUGH.

TG: who says i cant?

TG: you dont know that

TG: I could be the frenchiest fucker you’ve ever met

TG: berets and baguettes all day everyday

TG: hon hon hon and all that

CG: CAN YOU SPEAK FRENCH?

TG: no

CG: JESUS FUCK DAVE.

TG: i never said I could

TG: just that you didnt know if I did or not

TG: I mean i can understand it and i speak it a little

TG: but not well

TG: not at all

TG: my accent is terrible

CG: I’M NOT SURPRISED.

CG: YOUR ACCENT IS TERRIBLE IN ENGLISH TOO.

TG: rude

TG: its also a self burn

TG: we have the same accent

CG: YOURS IS WAY STRONGER.

TG: nu-uh

TG: mine is neigh indetectable

TG: my accent is so subtle people would think i was from ohio or maine or something

TG: one of those states that dont have accents

TG: idk

CG: NICE.

TG: yeah that wasnt some of my best work

TG: give me a break

TG: I just had a nine hour day and my brain is turning into mush

CG: OH, THAT’S FAIR.

TG: speaking of which i think im gonna hit the hay since youre busy

TG: dont want to fuck with my sleep schedule

TG: you know how it is

CG: YEAH, OKAY

CG: GOODNIGHT

TG: night kat

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 22:04 --

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooOOOOH we're halfway theeeeeere


	10. Chapter 10

Your name is Karkat Vantas and finals week is right around the corner.

You were desperately cramming as much information as you could into your brain. You spent way too much time thinking about Dave and talking to Sollux and not nearly enough time focusing in class, so you were in legitimate danger of failing at least two classes. Just picturing your dad’s disappointed face was enough to motivate you to pull all nighters, studying in a desperate attempt to pass.

You were reading over your paltry notes when you your phone started buzzing wildly, receiving a new message every two seconds. A sure-fire sign you were getting texted by Dave.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 20:35 --

TG: hey dude

TG: we should hang out

TG: a last hurrah before we get fucked up the ass by stress

TG: its the last weekend before exam week

TG: our last chance

TG: now or never

TG: lets hang ooooout

CG: OH MY GOD, DAVE.

CG: AT LEAST GIVE ME A SECOND TO RESPOND.

TG: its been a second

CG: SHOOSH.

CG: I SHOULD PROBABLY STUDY TONIGHT.

TG: dude

TG: youve been studying everyday for the past week

TG: give yourself a break

CG: BECAUSE I NEED TO DO REALLY WELL ON MY EXAMS TO PASS.

CG: I CAN’T RISK FAILING.

CG: YOU KNOW THIS.

TG: I know I know

TG: we dont have to hang out if you dont want to

TG: youve just been so stressed lately

TG: its not good for you

CG: I KNOW.

CG: TRUST ME, I KNOW.

CG: IVE SLEPT FOR A TOTAL OF SIX HOURS OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS.

CG: I FEEL LIKE I’M ON THE VERGE OF A MENTAL BREAKDOWN AT ALL TIMES.

TG: thats really not healthy kat

TG: even if we dont hang out you should still take a break

TG: destress and all that

CG: MAYBE.

TG: definitely

CG: FINE THEN.

CG: WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE US DO?

TG: man id give you the full strider spa package™

TG: it includes junk food, movies, shit talking literally everyone that isn’t us, and alcohol if the mood strikes us

TG: itll be great

CG: IT DOES SOUND PRETTY FUN…

TG: ill let you pick what we watch and I wont even complain

TG: too much

CG: AH,

CG: AN OFFER I CAN’T REFUSE.

CG: I HOPE YOU KNOW I’LL BE MAKING YOU WATCH THE NOTEBOOK.

TG: thats a sacrifice im willing to make

CG: WOW, YOU MUST REALLY WANT ME TO HANG OUT.

TG: what can I say

TG: I delight in your company

TG: plus mental health is serious business

TG: shouldnt fuck around with that shit

TG: im going to come pick you up now

TG: no weaseling your way out of this

CG: COME PICK ME UP?

CG: ARE WE NOT GOING TO HANG OUT HERE?

TG: nah man

TG: I figured it was about time you finally came to my place

TG: and if roxy doesn’t meet you soon she might skin me

TG: shes pretty pissed shes the only strilonde sibling not to have met you yet

CG: OH, OKAY.

CG: I’M COOL WITH THAT.

CG: YOUR PLACE IT IS.

TG: cool

TG: ttyl

CG: SEE YOU, NERD.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 21:14 --

You immediately crossed the hall into Kanaya’s room, “Help.”

“With what?” Kanaya asked, reading her own notes.

“I need you to dress me.”

“Why? Where are you going?” Kanaya asked, looking up with a slight frown.

“Dave’s place,” you said, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt. “I’m meeting his sister for the first time and I don’t want to look like an idiot.”

Kanaya smirked, “Are you sure you don’t just want to look nice for Dave?”

“Dave already knows what a dumpster fire I am, there’s no use trying to convince him otherwise.”

“Whatever you say,” Kanaya said, standing up from her desk. “What kind of look are we going for?”

“I don’t fucking know,” you said, “I just want to be presentable.”

“I can do presentable,” Kanaya said, walking into your bedroom.

Kanaya once again destroyed your drawers, pulling things out and discarding them on your bed. After you refused to wear the jeans she picked out for you she rolled her eyes and threw a pair of black leggings and a long grey sweater at you.

“Presentable, but comfortable,” she said. “Now I should really get back to studying.”

You thanked her and got dressed. Realistically you could have picked this outfit out by yourself but having Kanaya’s seal of approval helped your nerves. You weren’t sure why you were so nervous. You were just meeting Dave’s sister it shouldn’t be a big deal. You wanted her to like you though, and people usually didn’t.

Your phone buzzed, making you jump.

TG: here

You said goodbye to Kanaya and made your way down the stairs. You were impressed when you reached the bottom that you weren’t even winded. You saw Dave’s shitty old truck parked nearby and headed over to it.

“Hey,” you said, climbing into the cab of the truck. You feared for your life every time you let Dave drive you somewhere. You thought you would get over that fear as you spent more time in his truck, but you never did.

“Hey,” Dave said back, “ready for an awesome night of eating- and watching- literal garbage?”

“You said you wouldn’t complain!”

“No, I said I wouldn’t complain _too much,_ and that wasn’t too much, it was the perfect amount.”

You scoffed, but let it go.

The drive was filled with mindless chatter and nonsensical ramblings curtesy of Dave. You teased him and complained about how he made no damn sense, but you secretly enjoyed them. You liked getting a peek into Dave’s weird head and he had a lovely voice. You could listen to him talk all day. In fact, you have.

You were surprised when Dave pulled off the road and down a driveway you hadn’t noticed, the area was so crowded with trees. The driveway was long, almost a road of it own, but you eventually arrived at a massive white house. You gawked at it while Dave turned off the engine and hopped out of the truck.

“Since when are you loaded?” You asked, sliding out of the cab and jogging after Dave.

He shrugged, “Since I moved in with my mom. Turns out she’s a fancy pants geneticist. She’s a scary smart lady. You wouldn’t know it half the time though. Not to be mean or anything, she just downplays her intelligence a lot.”

Huh. You had no idea. Maybe that’s were Dave got his love of science?

“I’m looking forward to meeting her,” you said, surprised by the fact that you actually meant it.

“Won’t be today,” Dave said, “she’s at a conference or something. I’m not sure what it is exactly, I just know it’s a work thing.”

“Oh,” you said.

“Don’t worry though,” Dave said, unlocking the front door, “your hands will already be full with Roxy. You wouldn’t be able to handle both of them at the same time. I barely can.”

“Oh, great,” you said. He said not to worry and then immediately followed it up with something that made you worry.

Dave opened the door and dramatically gestured you inside, “M’dude.”

You rolled your eyes and walked inside. The moment you set foot in the house you heard someone running down the stairs before they slid into the room on socked feet. “Hey!” The petite blonde woman exclaimed, “You must be Karkat! I’m Roxy, Dave’s big sister!” She bounded over to you and threw her arms around you in a sudden hug, “I’ve wanted to meet you since forever! Oh my gosh, you’re so cute! No wonder Dave’s so obsessed with you.” 

“Okay, Rox, let him breathe,” Dave said, a light blush colouring his cheeks.

Roxy released you and took a step back, sticking her tongue out at Dave.

You stood there, frozen. You had no idea how to react. “Uh,” you said intelligently, “hi.”

“Hi,” Roxy said back, smiling at you, “you probably want to spend some alone time with Dave, though, so I’ll leave you to it.” Roxy winked and skipped out the room. “Bye!” She called over her shoulder.

“Roxy was surprisingly subdued,” Dave said without a hint of sarcasm after she had gone.

“Subdued?” You asked.

“Yeah, man. She’d usually be all up in your grill for way longer. She didn’t even ask any inappropriate questions. She barely even flirted,” Dave said, looking in the direction Roxy disappeared to, “I wonder what she’s up to. Oh, well,” he said with a shrug.

Dave started down the hall and you followed after. “Wanna see the backyard? We have a mausoleum for a cat back there.” Dave said nonchalantly.

“A mausoleum? Why am I surprised? Of course you do. You have to tell me though; if I look out there will I see animal carcasses?” You asked Dave seriously.

Dave gave you a guilty look, “…Maybe.”

“I’ll pass.”

“That’s fair I guess,” Dave said, “I have a really sweet deer out there though, it was such a lucky find. I sometimes go for walks around here cause it’s fucking roadkill city, but I’d never found a deer before. I was so fucking stoked. Hard as hell to get it back here though. It’s almost fully decomposed now, should be ready in just a couple of days. Haven’t decided what I want to do with it yet. ”

You looked at Dave blankly, “That just solidified my decision to not check it out, thanks.”

Dave shrugged, “Your loss, man. Let’s go upstairs, my room is pretty fucking rad.”

You followed Dave up the stairs and into his room. The first thing you noticed was how big it was. It was at least two times bigger than yours, with high ceilings and massive windows. He had a breath-taking view of the forest his house was nestled in and the river that flowed through it. The next thing you noticed was that there were instruments everywhere. A full drum kit, guitars, a bass, keyboard, and mixing station.

“Can you play all of these? You asked, gesturing around the room. 

“To varying degrees,” Dave said, “when I first showed up my mom spoiled the hell out of me. She would get me anything I asked for, so I took full advantage of it. I kinda wanted to see how far I could push it, so I kept asking for crazier and crazier shit. I realized pretty quickly that my mom would buy literally anything I asked for though, so I got bored. I was kind of a shit at thirteen.”

“Yeah, I remember,” you said smirking at him. 

“Check this out though,” Dave said, leading you over to a shelf in the corner.

The shelf was covered in animal skeletons and other morbid knick-knacks. There were loose fangs and claws, a single glass eye, as well as specimen in jars, including a human fetus which grossed you out. A couple of the skeletons had been arranged in funny poses. There were two skeletal rats slow dancing together and a raccoon smoking a blunt. 

“You’re so fucking weird,” you said, giving Dave an endeared smile. If Dave was fucked up for playing with dead things, what the fuck were you for finding it cute?

Dave shrugged, smiling back at you. He walked across the room and reached under his bed, pulling out a bottle of gin. “You interested?” He asked, holding up the bottle. “No pressure, of course. Just throwing it out there.”

“Why do you keep booze under your bed?” You asked.

“I live in a house full of alcoholics, if I want to keep alcohol around, I have to hide it. Plus, sometimes I want a drink without having to go through my nosy ass siblings. Not that I drink a lot. I don’t. Just sometimes.” Dave said awkwardly, looking nervous.

“Unclench, Dave, it’s fine,” you said, taking the bottle from him. You noticed that it was unopened. Popping off the top you said, “I’m still going to make you watch The Notebook, by the way. Don’t think I forgot.”  
“Damn,” Dave said, “I should know by now not to underestimate your dedication to making me watch romcoms.”

“Oh, The Notebook isn’t a romcom, Dave,” you said. “It’s going to make you cry. It’s all rom, no com.”

“Oh, really?” Dave said, “That’s a bold statement, Mr.Vantas. Are you sure you want to make that bet?”

You smiled at him, “Absolutely. Its going to break the unbreakable Dave Strider.”

“Bold. Very bold,” Dave said, shaking his head with an amused expression. “How much are you willing to bet on this?”

“Hmm,” you hummed, bringing a finger to your chin, “if you manage to make it through The Notebook without shedding a single tear, I will give you free reign to take as many pictures of me as your creepy little heart desires,”

“Ooh,” Dave said, “tempting. Okay, you’re on. What if I win though? If I make it through without breaking? I watch the whole damn thing, the credits roll, and my eyes are as dry as the Sahara, not a tear in sight?”

“What are you willing to give me?” you asked.

Dave thought for a moment, “Bragging rights? You’ll get to say that you made Dave Strider cry, by showing him a romance movie no less.”

“Kinda weak, but I’ll take it,” you said, extending your hand.

“Alright, lets shake on this shit,” Dave said, taking your hand. “Man, I’m going to do a whole photoshoot of you when I win.”

“Not going to happen, cause you’re going to blubber like a colicky baby, I guarantee it.”

Dave shook his head with a smile and picked up his laptop off his desk and brought it over to his bed. While he set up the movie you decided to take a swig of gin. You had never actually drunk alcohol before, but how bad could it be? Pretty damn bad apparently. You coughed and screwed up your face in disgust, “Jesus Christ, that’s awful! Why does anyone drink this shit?”

Dave laughed, “That’s hard liquor for you. Shits nasty when you drink it straight.”

“It’s absolutely vile,” you said, glaring at the bottle.

“Gotta mix it with something else, it makes shit tolerable,” Dave said, standing up from his bed. “I’ll go grab some orange juice; Dirk has an unhealthy obsession with it, so we always have some in the house.”

Dave left the room then and you were on your lonesome. You put the bottle down and gave the room another look, noticing a corkboard covered in polaroids. You wandered over to it, curious as to what kinds of things Dave would hang on his wall.

Many of the photos featured Dave’s family members. Roxy giving Dave a kiss on the cheek, Rose looking up from a book with a glare, Dirk stoically giving the camera the finger. There was also a photo of an attractive lady with a wide smile you assumed was Dave’s mom. The resemblance between Dave and his mother was striking. He really was his mother’s son.

There was also a handful of pictures of people you didn’t know. There was a picture of a teenage Dave being hugged by a nerdy boy in glasses, one of a girl licking Dave’s cheek while he looked disgusted, and one where Dave was giving Jade a piggyback ride. You were happy to see that Dave had so many people in his life, but your heart hurt because you didn’t get to be one of them.

There were pictures of Dave that were taken in the time between when you lost him and when you found him again, and it felt so strange. Pictures of an awkward, gangly teenage Dave that you never got to know. Pictures of him during his ‘rebellious phase.’ A cigarette between his teeth in one, a beer in hand and hickies on his neck in another.

Dave came back into the room then. He had a carton of orange juice in one hand and two glasses in the other. “Hey, dude.”

“Hey,” you said, turning back to the corkboard.

“Oh, geez. You were so close to never having to be subjected to the awkwardness that was teen Dave. Alas,” he said, putting the carton and glasses down on his nightstand.

“I wish I could have met him,” you said, looking at a photo of Dave that appeared to have been taken at his graduation.

“Nah,” Dave said, “he was a jackass. Come on, lets settle our bet.” He sat down and patted the bed.

You walked over and climbed onto his bed beside him. “Why is your bed so damn high?”

“It’s not high, you’re just short,” Dave said absently, hitting play on his laptop.

“Shades,” you said tapping the arm of his glasses, “I need to be able to see the tears in your eyes.”

“Fine,” Dave sighed. He took of his shades and placed them on the nightstand. “You’re not going to see any tears though, just these bone-dry peepers.”

You rolled your eyes and leaned back against the headboard, settling in for the emotional rollercoaster the movie would send you on. In the meantime, Dave started mixing gin and orange juice in the glasses he brought up. When he finished, he passed you one of the glasses and took a sip from the other.

As you expected, Dave talked all the way through the movie. “Fuck, Rachael McAdams is hot, 10/10.” “Ryan Gosling is one fine motherfucker. I’d absolutely fuck him.” “Okay, Noah’s a fucking creep. He’s literally threatening to kill himself if Allie doesn’t go out with him.” “Man, that’s one attractive couple, they’d make the cutest babies.” “Allie’s mom is such an asshole, what the fuck.”

The more Dave drank the more he talked too. You didn’t think it was possible, but he sure proved you wrong. After two refills of his drink he was rambling constantly, barely taking the time to breathe.

You were starting to feel pretty tipsy yourself. You were leaning against Dave, but you couldn’t remember when that had happened. Once you realized it though you became very distracted by your proximity. He was so warm and solid. And he smelled nice, like apples and cinnamon.

“You smell good,” you said, nuzzling you face into Dave’s side.

Dave laughed, “Thanks, dude. Eau du Strider, my signature musk.”

“Hmm,” you hummed. You decided to keep your face where it was. Dave made such a nice pillow.

Dave put his arm around your shoulder and said, “You’re a surprisingly cuddly motherfucker today. Really livin’ up to your name, huh, Kat? Gettin’ up close and personal with my armpit there, dude. Rubbin’ your face into it and shit. Your face is gonna smell like Dave sweat, I hope you know that.”

You hummed at him again, too content to move or respond. 

Dave started absentmindedly playing with your hair and you sighed happily, snuggling further into him and throwing an arm around his waist, “You’re so comfy.”

“Thanks, dude. I pride myself on my snuggleability. I’m the cuddliest fucker this side of the Mississippi. People come from far and wide to get a taste of my cuddling talents. You’re lucky, people usually have to schedule an appointment six months in advance to get this kind of treatment.”

You just hummed again. Talking was too much effort.

You spent the rest of the movie tucked into Dave’s side, barely paying attention to the movie. You were far more interested in memorizing what it felt like to be held by Dave like this. Who knew when- or if- it would happen again.

“Fuck, dude,” Dave said, his voice sounding a little wobbly, “is this gonna end the way I think it’s gonna end?”

“Depends on how you think it’s going to end,” you said, your voice muffled due to your face being smooshed against Dave’s side.

“It’s totally gonna end how I think it’s gonna end. I’m gonna to fuckin’ revolt if I’m right. It’s unacceptable. This is too sad!”

“I told you.”

“What the fuck. I barely even give a shit about young Allie and Noah, but old Allie and Noah are gonna be the death of me. I can’t, dude,” Dave said. It looked like you were going to win the bet.

When the final scene of the movie arrived, Dave let out a dismayed, “Noooo,” for the entire thing. When the credits rolled you looked up at Dave and saw him pouting, his eyes shiny.

“I win.”

“Fuck off.”

You giggled, “Stoic Mr. Strider, brought to tears by a romantic movie. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Fuck y’all, dude. It’s only cause I’ve been drinkin’. If I was sober this never would have happened.”

“Excuses, excuses,” you said, smiling up at him.

Dave shook his head, glaring at the credits playing on screen. “I feel betrayed. By what, I don’t know.”

You laughed, “By your own human emotions.”

Dave sighed, closing his laptop and setting it aside, “Fuck those things.”

You just leaned against him and smiled up at him. He was so fucking cute, misty eyed and pouting. Fuck, you loved him.

Unthinkingly, you reached up and placed a hand on his face before gently pulling him down and pressing your lips to his. It was only after you’d done it that you realized what you did. You pulled away and looked at Dave with wide eyes, afraid you’d just fucked things up between you.

Dave was looking down at you, seeming just as surprised as you. You were about to apologize when he put a hand on your cheek and leaned in for another, longer kiss.

You melted into him, relieved. You were so excited to finally be kissing Dave that you practically threw yourself at him. You brought your other hand up and tangled it in his hair, as he wrapped both arms around you tightly.

Kissing while sitting side by side was awkward and your neck was starting to hurt, so you threw a leg over Dave’s lap, straddling him.

“Oh, fuck,” Dave sighed, pulling you closer to him.

You had almost no experience with kissing, but you made up for it with enthusiasm. You held the sides of his face and kissed him desperately, feeling like no matter how much of him you touched it wasn’t enough. Dave’s kisses felt just as hungry as yours, licking and nipping at your lips. You had no idea what you were doing, but you loved everything that was happening.

Desperate to get closer to him, you pushed your hips against his. You were surprised when that made him gasp, doing it again you realized that Dave had a boner. Holy shit, you gave Dave Strider a boner. Spurred on by the confidence that gave you, you ground your hips against his, intentionally trying to wring more sounds out of him.

Dave leaned his head back, breaking your kiss, “Oh, fuck, Kat.” His hands moved to your hips, holding them tightly. Pushing you down against his dick and pulling you towards him, he helped you grind into him.

His head still thrown back, he bit his lip and groaned. You wiggled your hips, trying to get Dave’s dick to line up with your clit. Quickly giving up you reached down and moved Dave’s dick into place yourself. Dave looked down to watch you, moaning when you held him. You were determined to make him sound like that again.

You kept your hand on him, making sure he was in the right spot when you rubbed yourself along him again. You dropped your head onto his shoulder with a groan when he pressed against you just right. You moved your hand from where it was cupping his cheek and wrapped your arms around his neck. You clung to him while you moved together, gasping into each other’s necks.

After grinding down particularly hard Dave’s head fell back again, “Holy shit, Kat.” You kissed the side of his neck and he moaned, “Oh my god, dude, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”

You held him tighter, your heart squeezing painfully at his words. You wanted to say the same thing back, but you were breathing so hard you couldn’t form words. You pulled your face out of his neck instead and kissed him again. If you couldn’t tell him with words you would just have to show him with actions. 

While rocking against each other, Dave’s dick pressed up against you just right and you moaned. You hoped he would understand what you needed without you having to tell him.

Dave returned your moans and between kisses he said, “Fuck, dude,” kiss, “You’re gonna kill me,” kiss, “You’re too fuckin’ hot,” kiss, “God, I want you,” kiss, “I need you,” kiss, “I wanna be inside you,” kiss.

You pulled away, “Yeah, fuck yeah.”

You stood up off of him and threw off your sweater, followed by your pants. Dave followed suit, pulling off his shirt and kicking off his pants.

When you were both completely naked you sat back in Dave’s lap, kissing him again. Dave’s wrapped one arm around your waist and flipped you both over, so he was holding himself over you. Gasping, he grabbed his dick and lined it up with you before pushing it inside.

Your back arched and your head fell back in a silent scream. You had no idea that was going to feel so good.

Once fully inside of you Dave’s head fell against your shoulder and he took a moment to breathe. “Holy fuck, Kat. You feel incredible.” Dave pulled back slightly before sliding back into you. You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled your hips up against his.

Dave moaned and started up a steady pace, pounding into you. You didn’t have any frame of reference, but he felt huge inside you. He stretched you out so far it almost hurt, but that just made it even better.

Dave lifted his face from your shoulder and looked at you. His eyes bore into yours and his brows were scrunched up. His mouth was kept open from how hard he was panting, and he never looked more beautiful to you than he did then.

You placed your hands back on his cheeks and looked up at him helplessly. You brushed a thumb over his lip and smiled at him. Dave smiled back, huffing out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. His mouth fell back open in a gasp and he dropped onto his elbows, fucking you faster.

You bit your lip in a futile attempt to keep yourself from making so much noise and slid one hand back into Dave’s hair and let the other find its way to your clit. As soon as you started to rub at it your pleasure doubled, and you couldn’t help the scream that found its way out of your mouth.

“Jesus Christ, Kar,” Dave gasped, “you’re so fuckin’ hot, I can barely stand it. God, I want to make this last but if you keep being so damn sexy, I’m not going to be able to hold off for much longer.”

You squeezed your eyes shut, rubbing your clit at such a brutal pace you could barely think.

You and Dave figured out a rhythm, lifting your hips to meet him every time he pushed inside and lowering them when he pulled back. Dave shifted the angle of his hips, dragging his dick along your G-spot whenever he pulled out and you had to bite down on your hand to keep yourself from waking the neighbourhood.

You squeaked out a moan, your legs starting to shake and your muscles clenching. You were close, so fucking close. You wanted to make it last too but knew you wouldn’t be able to.

“I’m close, Dave,” you gasped moving your hand from your mouth to Dave’s shoulder. Your fingers dug into Dave’s back and your legs fell open wider. “Come with me,” you said before your head fell back and your body seized, another scream ripping its way out of your throat.

As you came you felt Dave bury himself as deeply inside of you as he could, a loud groan of his own mixing with the sound of your gasping moans. “Oh, god, I love you,” he said, his voice sounding strained

Dave collapsed on top of you and you held him against your heaving chest. You both just laid there, trying to catch your breath. Dave kissed your neck and your cheeks hurt from how wide you were smiling. He loves you. You pet his hair and let yourself enjoy the afterglow with Dave in your arms.

After your breaths and hearts had slowed Dave pulled out and you felt his cum pour out of you. Before you could complain about the wet spot Dave rolled you both over, so you were on his chest and away from the mess.

You nuzzled into him, the happiest you had ever felt, and drifted off into one of the deepest, most restful sleeps of your life.


	11. Chapter 11

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you are not in your own bed.

You woke up with a headache and the sun streaming directly into your eyes. You groaned and turned your head away. Why the fuck was the sun in your eyes? Your bedroom window faced west. You realized why when you cracked your eyes open.

You weren’t in your room; you were in Dave’s. Oh, shit. Memories from the night before rushed back and your heart started to pound.

You fucked Dave. You had sex with him. You had Dave Strider’s dick inside you. You kept thinking of other ways to phrase it in an attempt to make it hit you. It didn’t feel real.

You looked over and saw Dave, still naked, curled up beside you with an arm over your waist. He was sound asleep, and you considered waking him. You didn’t know what time it was, but you figured that didn’t really matter at the moment.

“Dave,” you whispered, poking his cheek.

He grumbled and rolled over so his back was to you. Oh, wow. He wasn’t kidding, it really did look like someone played tic tac toe back there. You couldn’t let yourself get distracted though.

You held yourself up on an elbow and shook Dave’s shoulder. “Dave,” you whispered again, “wake up.”

He grumbled again and rolled onto his back, his eyes still closed, “What?”

“We had sex,” you said, getting straight to the point.

Dave’s eyes flew open then, landing on your naked chest before finding your face. “Oh, fuck,” he said, his eyes wide.

That wasn’t exactly the reaction you were hoping for.

Dave sat up then and held his face in his hands.

That _really_ wasn’t the reaction you were hoping for.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Kat,” Dave said, sounding miserable. “That wasn’t how I wanted any of this to go.”

You felt your heart starting to break. He regretted it. You knew your friendship would be ruined if you made a move on him, but your dumb ass did it anyway.

“Its fine, Dave,” you said, trying to sound composed, “you were drunk.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” Dave said, looking up from his hands, “I fucked it up so fucking badly. I’m so sorry, Karkat.”

You didn’t know how _he_ fucked up. _You_ were the one who kissed _him_ , _you_ instigated it. “It’s fine, Dave. I get it. We were drunk. We can just forget about it, pretend like nothing happened. It doesn’t have to change anything.”

Dave looked at you like you’d grown a second head. “Dude, it’s not that I regret it, it’s that it happened in the worst possible way.”

“What do you mean?” You were lost.

“I mean we just made an impulsive, drunken decision. I didn’t want it to go like that. Just in case you haven’t already figured it out, I kinda like you, dude. Like a lot. I wanted to go about it the right way, you know?”

He likes you? Like-likes you? You stared at him, dumbfounded. “You like me?”

Dave gave you a shy, amused smile, “Of course, I do. How could I not?”

“Very easily,” you said, “I’m an asshole.”

Dave chuckled, “You’re really not.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. But what did you mean by ‘go about it the right way?’”

Dave shrugged, “You know, the whole dinner and a movie, wait till the third date thing. You’re sappier than a maple tree in spring, you love romance and shit, so I wanted it to be a little less… sloppy? I wanted to woo you, dude. But I royally fucked that up. I’m sorry, Kat. I wanted our first time to be… I don’t know. Special, I guess? I wanted it to stand out, I wanted you to be like, ‘Forget those other chucklefucks, this guy’s the one for me, he puts in effort and really gives a shit.’ That’s pretty presumptuous of me actually. I don’t know, maybe there were others who did a better job of wining and dining you than I ever could. And it was also super presumptuous to assume you’d even want that… want me.”

“Of course, I want you, dumbass,” you said fondly. You looked down at your hands shyly, “There weren’t any others though.”

Dave looked at you alarmed, “Oh, fuck. Were you a virgin?”

You nodded and Dave dropped his face back into his hands and groaned.

“I’m so sorry, Kat. Fuck. So, I didn’t just fuck up _our_ first time, I fucked up _your_ first time _in general._ Jesus Christ, I’m such an asshole.” Dave’s head shot up then, looking horrified, “Oh god, did I come inside you?”

 _Fuck._ “Judging by the state of my thighs I’m going to go with ‘Yes,’” you said, picking at some of the dried cum on your legs.

Dave’s face dropped back into his hands and he groaned even louder than before. “God, I couldn’t have fucked that up worse. Actually no, I did. I also told you that I love you during sex. Jesus fucking Christ, what is _wrong_ with me? I fucking _butchered_ that.”

How did you forget about that? You remembered how you felt when he told you, like your heart was going to explode. Your heart still hurt, but for different reasons now.

“Don’t worry about it, Dave. It wasn’t as bad as you think it was,” you said, looking down. Fuck, this whole conversation was painfully awkward.

“You deserved better,” Dave said, looking up at you. “I wanted to be the one to give you that.”

You smiled a small, sad smile, “You still can. I know you regret how it happened, but I don’t really have any complaints. I didn’t need rose petals and candle lit dinners. I was just happy it happened at all.”

Dave still looked like he was deep in self loathing, so you poked his cheek, “That’s your I hate myself face, cut it out. I’m pretty sure you were the one who said that to me last time.”

Dave smiled for a moment before his face fell again.

You moved to sit in front of him and grabbed the sides of his face, forcing him to look at you, “Cut it out, you ridiculous man. It’s fine. You’re fine. You didn’t fuck up. We didn’t do anything we wouldn’t have done while sober. And If you’re worried that I’m upset because I wasn’t deflowered on a bed of roses or something than relax. I’m perfectly okay with how it happened.”

“I know,” Dave said, leaning his cheek into your hand, “I’m just disappointed in myself. I had plans, dude. I was going to sweep you off your tiny feet. I was going to woo the fuck out of you.”

You smiled, “What kind of plans?”

“I’m not telling cause I might still do them. If you’re interested that is,” Dave said, looking unsure.

“Of course, I’m interested, you big nerd. I already said I was,” you said, smooshing his cheeks between your hands.

Dave smiled and pulled your hands off his face. He didn’t let go of them, holding them both in his lap, smiling down at them fondly. He rubbed his thumbs along the backs of your hands and quietly said, “I meant it you know.”

“Meant what?” you asked.

“That I love you.”

Your breath caught in your throat and a huge smile spread across your face. “I love you too.”

Dave looked up seeming surprised.

“What?” you asked teasingly, “Did you think I didn’t?”

“I don’t really know _what_ I thought,” Dave said, still looking at you wide eyed.

You looked at him fondly, your heart hurting from how much love you felt for this nerd.

Without letting go of Dave’s hands you leaned forward and pressed your lips to his in a soft kiss. It was so much different from the kisses you shared the night before. Those had been desperate and hungry, but this was full of gentle affection.

When you pulled back, Dave still looked like he couldn’t believe any of this was happening. You leaned forward again, booping your nose to his. He breathed a quiet laugh and softly said, “God, I love you.”

“I love you too, but if I have to spend another minute covered in your dried jizz I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that,” Dave said guiltily. He looked back down at your clasped hands and quietly said, “What if you’re pregnant?”

Fuck. You really didn’t want to think about that. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess.”

“Should we get plan B or something?” Dave asked. He sounded just as uncomfortable as you felt.

You shook your head, “Tomorrow’s the start of exams, I can’t risk being sick. I need to do really well or else I could fail at least two of them.”

“Makes sense,” Dave said, “what shitty timing we have.”

“Yep,” you said, popping the P. “I really need to do something about this dried cum situation though.”

“Right,” Dave said, letting go of one of your hands and standing up. He pulled you to your feet with his other hand and lead you over to his bedroom door. He opened it a crack and peeked out. “Coast is clear,” he said before opening the door and pulling you into the hallway with him. You quickly followed him into the bathroom, _really_ hoping nobody saw you.

Dave’s bathroom was the size of your bedroom, with polished stone floors and long counter with a built-in vanity. A crystal chandelier hung from the centre of the ceiling. Sitting in front of a window overlooking the forest was a clawfoot tub, next to it was an oversized, separate shower. In the corner opposite the shower was a cupboard with glass doors, inside were neatly folded stacks of towels. It was the gaudiest, most ostentatious bathroom you had ever seen.

Dave let go of your hand and walked over to the shower, turning the water on. He then went over to the cupboard and pulled two towels out. “Ready for your first post coital shower experience? Very post coital.”

“Yes, you weirdo,” you said, stepping into the shower.

Dave chuckled and followed you in.

You were expecting to just shower and get clean, but Dave seemed to have other Ideas. He draped himself over your back and wrapped his arms around your waist, tucking his face into the crook of your neck.

“Whatcha doing?” you asked teasingly.

“Nothin’,” he said, “just hanging out.”

“Sure you are,” you said, rolling you eyes with a smile.

“Yep,” he said, “no ulterior motives here.” He moved one hand down to start lazily rubbing at your clit. “Just a completely innocent hug is all.”

You sighed and leaned back against Dave’s chest, pressing your crotch into his hand. “Of course, how could I have ever doubted you. How silly of me,” you said breathily. 

“I know right,” Dave said, sliding his other hand down to start stroking just inside of you. “I’m a pure little cinnamon bun who’s never had an indecent thought in his life.” You could feel Dave getting hard against your ass, contradicting what he was saying.

You couldn’t hold still, rolling your hips, trying to encourage Dave to slide his fingers inside you. He pulled back whenever you pressed forward, keeping his contact with you light and teasing.

“Obviously,” you said around a moan, “how could I have misconstrued this situation as anything other than platonic?”

You groaned, frustrated at his teasing, and leaned the back of your head against his shoulder. You reached one of your hands down yourself and placed it over his, encouraging him to rub your clit harder and faster.

“I don’t know,” Dave said, finally slipping a finger inside of you, “you really misjudged me.”

You gasped and your muscles clenched around him, “Fuck,” he sighed into your neck, “that would feel so fucking good around my cock.”

“Put it in me, then,” you said.

“Hmm,” Dave hummed, “tempting, but not yet.”

“You’re such a fucking tease.”

“Yep,” Dave said, a smile in his voice. He slid a second finger inside you and crooked them both, tapping them against your G-spot.

You gasped and your knees buckled. You would have fallen if it wasn’t for Dave holding you up.

He paused his ministrations for a moment, “You good?”

“Don’t stop,” you said impatiently.

Dave huffed a laugh and said, “Yes, sir,” before doubling down on his previous efforts.

You were moaning with every breath and you had to hold onto one of Dave’s arms around you to keep yourself up.

“Fuck!” You cried, “I’m close, Dave, I’m so close!”

As soon as you said that Dave’s stopped again.

“Why?!” You groaned, irritated by Dave’s teasing.

“Cause I still intend to fuck you,” Dave said quietly into your ear before moving down to kiss your neck.

“Then hurry the fuck up and do it already!” You whined, pushing your ass back against his dick, trying to tempt him.

“Patience is a virtue, Kat,” he said, starting to move his hands again.

It felt good, _so_ good, but it wasn’t enough. “Fuck patience,” you said, leaning forward, out of his arms. You held yourself up with your elbows against the wall and spread your legs, sticking your ass out towards Dave. You turned your head to look over your shoulder at him with an expression you hoped got across how antsy you were. 

He laughed breathlessly and lined himself up with you without pushing inside.

“Dave,” you whined, “fuck me already!”

“So impatient,” he said teasingly, pressing his dick against you without pushing it inside.

You were _way_ too turned on to give a shit about playing Dave’s game. You pushed your hips back, sliding his dick inside of you yourself.

You moaned in relief and Dave gasped in surprise.

“You little shit,” Dave said with a surprised laugh. “You want me to fuck you? Okay, I’ll fuck you,” he said with a smile in his voice.

He grabbed your hips and pulled out of you until only the head of his dick remained inside before slamming his hips back into yours.

Your head fell forwards and you screamed. You brought a hand down to your clit and picked up where Dave left off.

Dave kept up a brutal pace, pushing and pulling your hips against his in time with his thrusts. Your legs were shaking, and your free hand was scrambling to find purchase on the slick shower wall. You were crying out, desperate for release. 

Behind you Dave was making just as much noise as you were, gasping when he pulled out and moaning when he pushed back in.

“Dave,” you whined, arching your back in an attempt to make his dick slide deeper inside of you.

“Oh, fuck,” he gasped, “you’re gonna fucking kill me, Kat.”

“Faster,” you moaned.

Dave laughed breathlessly, “You’re _really_ going to kill me.”

He obliged though, pounding into you as fast as he could. His hands were gripping your hips hard enough to bruise, moaning even louder than before. He wrapped himself around you, winding his arms around your torso and dropping his face into the crook of your neck.

“Fuck, I’m close,” he sighed. “Can I come inside you?” he asked, kissing the side of your face. “Please?”

You were nearing the edge yourself. You were unable to speak your body was wound so tight, all you could do was moan out a, “Mhm.”

You were so close. You wanted to let Dave know, but you could barely breathe, let alone speak. Your orgasm finally, _finally_ hit and you screamed, your legs giving out. The only thing holding you up was Dave’s vice grip on you.

“Oh, thank god,” Dave said, his voice strained as he came inside of you again with a tight cry.

As soon as he’d finished, he collapsed to the shower floor and you came with him. You both sat there in a tangle of limbs trying to catch your breath.

“Holy fuck, dude,” Dave said panting. “You killed me. You sucked my soul out through my dick and I’m dead now. Jesus Christ,” he said, flopping onto his back.

You laid back beside him, the water from the shower falling on your stomach. You were too winded to respond so you gave him a weak thumbs up.

Dave laughed breathily and reached out, grabbing your raised hand and bringing it to his lips. “Why did we wait so long to start having sex with each other? We could have been fucking months ago.”

You rolled over to lie on Dave’s chest. “We’re just going to have to make up for lost time,” you said, pecking Dave’s smiling lips, “lets actually get clean now though. Came in here to wash off your cum and I just ended up covered in more of it.”

You stood up with Dave and set about leaning yourselves up. You both rinsed off quickly and stepped out. The towels Dave had taken out were thick and soft and you happily wrapped yourself in one, burying your face in it and enjoying being surround by the smell of Dave. He wrapped a towel around his waist and led you out of the bathroom, both of you still dripping.

In Dave’s bedroom he removed the towel from around his waist and started to dry his hair. It was the first time you had an opportunity to really take in how Dave looked while naked outside of a sexual context. And he looked good. Really good. You were surprised how different it felt to be in Dave’s presence when you were both naked. It felt so comfortable, so intimate despite doing nothing besides exist near each other.

Dave pulled the towel off his head and noticed you staring at him. “See something you like?” He asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

“Maybe,” you said, smiling back at him.

“Oh?” he said, looking flirtatious. “Would you like a closer look?” He asked as he walked over to you and rested his hands on your hips.

You smiled and placed your palms on his chest, sliding them up to his shoulders. Dave gently nudged your towel off, so you were standing naked with him. Dave ran his hands along your hips and waist, and it felt unexpectedly good. Even though you weren’t doing anything explicitly sexual, just having his skin on yours felt fantastic. Wanting more contact, you stepped forward, pressing the front of your body against his. You rested your cheek on Dave’s chest, and you felt him place his chin on top of your head.

You were so comfortable; held in Dave’s arms, pressed against him, smelling his cinnamon apple scent. You would have been okay with never moving again. You sighed happily and nuzzled your face into Dave, placing a soft kiss on his sternum. Dave kissed the top of your head in return.

“We should probably get breakfast or something,” Dave mumbled into your hair.

“Don’t wanna,” you said, holding him tighter.

You could feel more than hear Dave laugh. “We can pick this up again later.”

You groaned, “But you’re so warm.”

Dave gave you another kiss on the head and said, “Come on, love,” before stepping back, out of your grasp.

 _Love._ Dave called you ‘love.’ Your heart clenched painfully in your chest. It was just a word but being called ‘love’ by Dave made you embarrassingly emotional.

Dave walked over to where your clothes were scattered about the floor and gathered them up. He carried them over to you and asked, “You alright?”

You dropped your forehead back onto Dave’s chest, “Yeah, I’m just a fucking sap.”

“Was it because I called you ‘love?” Dave asked.

“Maybe,” you mumbled.

“You like it when I called you things like that?” Dave said with a smile in his voice, “Honey? Dearest? Darling? Sweetheart? Baby? My sweetest, dearest, darling honey baby?”

“Stoooop,” You said, beet red, “my heart can’t take it.”

Dave chuckled put a hand in your hair, “Lets get dressed.”

“Fine,” you said, taking your clothes from Dave’s hand. “I just want you know that I’m not happy about this.” You put on your underwear and pants while Dave looked for something to wear.

“I hear you, love” Dave said, making you blush again.

Once the two of you were dressed Dave lead you down the stairs by the hand. As soon as you turned the corner into the kitchen you saw all three Strilonde siblings. They all looked up, each of them looking amused in their own way.

“Good morning,” Roxy said with a shit eating grin, taking a sip of coffee.

“Sleep well?” Rose asked, “I can’t say I did. I heard a strange noise last night, and again this morning. It was quite loud, hope it didn’t keep you up as well.”

Dirk smirked into his mug.

You blushed and Dave said, “Fuck you guys.”

“What?” Rose asked, feigning offense, “I express concern for your ability to get a good night’s sleep and you say, ‘fuck you’? That seems rather uncalled for.”

“Hella uncalled for,” Roxy said, shaking her head solemnly.

“You’re the worst, lets eat out,” Dave said, turning to you.

“Didn’t you already eat out?” Rose asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You suuuuck,” Dave groaned, dragging you down the hall towards the front door.

“Really, Dave? You’re making it too easy,” Rose called after you.

You both put on your shoes and coats and headed out to Dave’s truck. “I’m sorry about them,” Dave said looking embarrassed. “They delight in my discomfort.”

You shrugged, still blushing, “They’re your siblings, I’d be shocked it they didn’t. It’s a universal constant that siblings love to embarrass each other.”

“That’s true,” Dave said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Where do you want to go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i posted this later than usual; it's my mom's birthday.


	12. Chapter 12

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you are stressed the fuck out.

Exam week went by in a stressful blur. You studied, wrote an exam, studied some more, then slept, rinse and repeat for the entire week. Dave did his best to keep you sane and made sure you ate and stayed hydrated. He also did his best to distract you regularly, which you had mixed feeling about. You were a little frustrated about having your attention taken away from schoolwork, but you didn’t mind his methods. Once Dave decided that you needed a break, he would cozy up to you, kissing your neck and propositioning you. You would try to resist and focus on your notes for all of five seconds before gleefully giving in to him.

You managed to pass all of your classes, somehow, and your first semester of college came to a close. You then had two weeks off for Christmas one of which would be spent in Houston with your dad. You decided to ask Dave to come home with you, not expecting him to want to go, but was pleasantly surprised when he agreed.

A few days before Christmas you and Dave found yourselves in the airport. It was uncomfortably packed with travelers heading home for the holidays and atmosphere was tense. There were crying babies and stressed out parents, people yelling at airport employees and others arguing over the phone. You and Dave awkwardly sat at your gate, waiting for your flight while trying to ignore the chaos around you.

After countless games of I spy, hang man, and tic tac toe you were finally allowed to start boarding your plane. You and Dave were lucky enough to get him a seat not only on the same plane as you, but one beside you as well. The only reason that was possible was probably because you chose a flight no one else would want. One with a departure time of 3:30am.

Dave took the window seat to spare you the anxiety of having to see how far off the ground you were. That meant you were in the middle though, with a stranger seated next to you.

There was a screaming toddler nearby and ten minutes into the flight the older man sitting next to you fell asleep, snoring loudly. The kid sitting directly behind Dave repeatedly kicked the back of his chair and you were so glad you didn’t take that spot because Dave was considerably more patient than you. Even still you could tell he was getting increasingly annoyed.

After five straight minutes of the kid kicking Dave’s seat, you lost your temper, turned around and said, “Could you stop?” with barely contained rage. You got a glare from the kid’s mom, but at least the brat stopped. 

After a grueling three and a half hours you finally landed in Houston and trudged off the plane. You and Dave were both itching to leave the airport but were held up at baggage claim. And car rentals. And in the parking lot. And in traffic the entire drive to your childhood home.

By the time Dave finally pulled into your dad’s driveway you were both exhausted. You and Dave got out of the car and gathered up your bags. Like every year your house was covered in Christmas lights, wreaths, and lawn ornaments.

“Man, I forgot how extra your dad gets at Christmas,” Dave says, smiling at the house. 

You smiled at him and walked up the steps and onto the porch. Before you could even knock, the door flew open and your dad crushed you in a hug. The breath was squeezed out of you with the force of his arms around you.

“I missed you so much, kiddo,” your dad said, swinging you back and forth.

“Yep, missed you too,” you wheezed, patting his arm with your free hand.

He released you and gave you a wide, happy smile. He looked at Dave then, who was standing behind you, looking awkward.

“Geez, kid. You got big,” your dad said to Dave, actually having to look up at him. “Bring it in,” he said, wrapping his arms around Dave in a hug of his own.

“Uh, hi,” Dave said. He looked like he had no idea what to do. He was holding a bag in each hand and couldn’t hug back so he just stood there looking uncomfortable. You gave him an amused grin over your dad’s shoulder.

Your dad pulled back and said, “Alright, lets get inside. You probably want to put those bags down.” He turned around and headed inside, allowing you and Dave to step inside.

The inside of your house was just as decked out in Christmas crap as the outside. Kitschy Santa figurines, Christmas lights, and garlands everywhere. Christmas music and the smell of gingerbread was coming from the kitchen. You used to find your dad’s enthusiasm embarrassing when you were a teenager, but now it was comforting and cute.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I already decorated the tree. I wasn’t sure if you’d be coming home or not,” your dad said.

“It’s fine, dad,” you said, dropping your bag and kicking off your shoes. “Decorating the tree has always been a pain in the ass anyway.”

“Yeah, you never did like it,” you dad said. “Kankri’s coming home tomorrow so we have today to ourselves.”

“Oh, great,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“I know, I know. But for now, I’ll let you guys get settled. I’ll be in the kitchen,” Your dad said, giving you a kiss on the cheek before heading down the hall.

You and Dave hauled your bags into your childhood bedroom and dropped them by your bed. “Fuck, why did we pack so much?” You asked, glaring at your bags.

“An excellent question,” Dave replied.

You plopped down on your bed and patted it, inviting Dave to join you. Dave sat down beside you and sighed.

Looking around the room Dave said, “Fuck dude, I never thought I’d be back here. It hasn’t changed at all.”

“Excuse you,” you said, “I got more posters.” You pointed to one of your walls which was completely covered in movie posters and magazine cut outs of old celebrity crushes.

“Oh, yes, of course. How could I have missed that?” Dave said sarcastically.

“I have no idea, it’s glaringly obvious. How could you not tell that I now have a thousand posters on my wall as opposed to the nine hundred and ninety I used to have?”

“No idea. I guess I’m just an unobservant fool.”

“I guess you are.” You bumped his shoulder with yours and said, “We should probably go spend a bit of time with my dad before we go to bed.”

“Yeah, true,” he said, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt and not making any move to get up.

“What is it?” You asked knowingly.

“Does your dad know about us?” Dave asked.

Ah, so that’s what was making him nervous.

“Not yet,” you said. You could tell that that wasn’t the answer Dave was hoping for. “Don’t worry, Dave. He’s going to be fine with it.”

“I know,” he said, “logically I know. Your dad has always been cool, but I’m still kinda anxious. It’s just so awkward. Like ‘hey, Karkat’s dad! I know you haven’t seen me since I was thirteen but guess what! I got drunk and fucked your kid last week and we’ve been having sex damn near constantly ever since! Oh, and I came inside of him so he might be pregnant too! Merry Christmas!’”

“Well I wouldn’t phrase it quite like that,” you said, blushing.

Dave flopped back on your bed, staring up at the ceiling. “What are we going to do if you are though?”

You laid down beside him, shoulder to shoulder. “I don’t know. What do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know. Besides, it’s not really up to me. Whatever you say goes in this case. ‘Your body, your choice,’ and all that,” Dave said.

“Your opinion matters to me though. Like I’m not going to keep the kid if you would leave me for it or something.”

Dave turned his head to look at you, his brow furrowed, “You know I wouldn’t do that right? I wouldn’t just up and leave you like that.”

“I know,” you said. You hadn’t actually. You didn’t think Dave was the kind of guy to do that, but it was reassuring to hear it. “I was just trying to illustrate my point. Which was, ‘your opinion on this matters to me.’”

“Hmm,” Dave hummed, looking back up at the ceiling. “I mean… whatever you decide I’ll be on board with, so don’t worry about that.”

“Well, I don’t know what I want to do. Let’s just hope we don’t have to figure it out.”

“Yeah,” Dave said.

You gave Dave chaste kiss before getting up, “Come on, let’s go see my dad.” You pulled Dave up by a hand but released it before walking out of the room. 

“Hey, you two,” your dad smiled when you entered the kitchen. “Help yourselves,” he said, gesturing to a plate of gingerbread cookies on the counter.

“It’s 7am,how do you already have cookies made? When did you get up?” you asked, taking one. You loved your dad’s cookies, too bad he only baked for special occasions.

“Around 6. I wasn’t sure when exactly you’d get here and I didn’t want to miss you,” he said, leaning against the counter. “So how have things been, Kitkat?”

“Oh, you know. Not bad,” you said. You knew you had some things to tell him, but you weren’t sure how to go about it.

“And how’ve you been, kid? What have you been up to these last couple of years?” Your dad asked Dave.

“Uh,” Dave started awkwardly, “I’ve been okay. Haven’t been up to much really. It’s been a pretty uneventful few years”

“He’s being modest, “ you said to your dad, “He has a million hobbies. He’s learned to play like five instruments, _and_ he can sing, _and_ he writes music, _and_ he does photography. Not to mention his collections and all the weird shit he does with bones.” You never had an opportunity to brag about Dave before, so you were going to take full advantage of it. You could see Dave blushing but he deserved to have someone sing his praises so he could deal. 

“Oh, wow, you’ve been busy,” your dad said, sounding impressed. “What was that about weird shit with bones though?”

Dave looked a little uncomfortable, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Probably because he knew it was as weird as it sounded.

“He collects animals bones and reassembles their skeletons. It sounds kind of creepy, but it’s really cool.” You said, saving Dave from having to explain it himself.

“Oh, well that’s interesting,” your dad said genuinely, “I see you never grew out of your fascination with ‘dead shit’ then.”

Dave gave him a small, shy smile, “Can’t say I did.”

“Do you still want to be a paleontologist?”

Both you and Dave were surprised he remembered that. Dave had a funny sort of smile on his face. It looked like he was fond, pleased, and a little emotional. “Yeah, but I’m not sure if it’s what I’ll do yet,” Dave said, sounding a little more comfortable. “There are a couple of things I’m considering. I haven’t decided what to do yet.”

“Oh, yeah?” your dad said, “Karkat mentioned that you’re into music, is that one of the things you’re considering?”

“Yeah,” Dave said, “I’m also thinking about studying film.”

You were weirdly pleased seeing Dave interact with your dad like this. Maybe it was because you were glad that your dad liked your boyfriend. Maybe it was because it was nice to see your dad and Dave reunite and get to talk as adults. Either way it made you happy. 

About an hour after you arrived Dave decided to get a bit more sleep, still tired from the flight. You stayed in the living room to spend a little time with you dad one on one. You were watching Wheel of Fortune and playing along together. You were both terrible at it, but it was still fun. 

“So, what’s the story with you and Dave?” Your dad asked with an impish grin, not looking away from the T.V.

You looked over at him in surprise, “What?”

Your dad looked over at you with an expression like it should be obvious. “Don’t think I didn’t notice, Kitkat.”

You started picking at your nails as a blush rose to your cheeks. You didn’t think you were being that obvious.

“So?” Your dad asked, raising and eyebrow with a smirk.

“Fine,” you said, blushing furiously, “You caught me. Dave and I are together. How did you know?”

“Well, my first clue was you bringing him home for the holidays, so I already suspected it. The way you look at him just proved me right.”

You sighed, “Great. Good to know I’m completely transparent and can’t keep anything from you.”

Your dad smiled, “No shit. How long have you been together?”

“Only a week. It’s still really new, but I’m happy.”

“Good. Do I need to give him the shovel talk? I’ve never had to deal with one of my kids dating before. Dave was always a good kid and he doesn’t seem to have changed much in that regard, so I don’t think I have to worry too much. Right?” 

“Right,” you said, smiling fondly, “I’m not worried about whether Dave will treat me right, or whatever. He’s a good man.”

“You love him?” Your dad asked, looking like he already knew the answer.

“Yeah,” you said smiling down at your clasped hands, “I do.”

“Does he know?”

You nodded, “We’ve both already said it.”

Your dad leaned back in his seat and gave you a warm smile. “I know I’m supposed to be upset or whatever that you’re dating, but I’m just happy. So, how did you get together?”

 _Oh, shit._ You were really hoping he wouldn’t ask that. You can’t just say, ‘He and I got drunk, had sex, he said I love you when he came, and here we are,’ to your dad. “Uh,” you said, trying to come up with a way around explaining it, “He told me he loved me, and I said it back, and now we’re together.” A lie of omission maybe, but still true.

Your dad squinted at you, “That’s definitely not the whole story, but okay.”

You gave him a tight, shy smile. You were glad your dad was letting it go. If he pressed you would have spontaneously combusted out of pure embarrassment.

When the episode of Wheel of Fortune you were watching ended you gave your dad a kiss on the cheek and headed to your room. Dave was curled up in your bed, his back to the wall and the covers pulled up to his chin. You slowly lifted the edge of the blanket and climbed into bed as carefully as you could, not wanting to wake him. As soon as you laid down though Dave uncurled slightly, winding his arms around you.

“Sorry,” you whispered, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“S’okay,” Dave mumbled sleepily, nuzzling his face into your chest.

You wrapped your arms around him in return and kissed the top of his head.

“Love you,” Dave said into your sternum, sounding half asleep.

You smiled and gave Dave a squeeze, “love you too.”


	13. Chapter 13

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you’re going to kill your brother.

When you woke up the next morning Dave was already awake. He was lying with his back against the headboard tapping away on his phone. You shifted towards him and dropped your head into his lap.

“Morning, love,” Dave said, combing his finger through your hair.

You wrapped an arm around his legs and nuzzled your face into his stomach. “Morning,” you mumbled sleepily.

“Your brother’s here,” Dave said, “he showed up around an hour ago.”

You groaned, “I’m not looking forward to this.”

“I feel that,” he said. “I’ve been hiding ever since he got here. I don’t really want to talk to him in general, but I really, _really_ don’t want to have a conversation with the guy while solo.”

You groaned again before sitting up. “Let’s just get this over with.”

You and Dave dragged yourselves out of bed and headed to the living room. Just as you had expected, Kankri was sitting on the couch, watching the news.

“Ah, Karkat, good morning and merry Christmas,” your brother said. “Sleep well?”

“Merry Christmas, and yeah, I slept fine.”

“That’s good. It is noon, however. You know it’s just as unhealthy to sleep too much as it is to not sleep enough. So, you either went to bed much later than you should have, or you slept for over twelve hours. It’s important to keep to a regular sleep schedule you know. Regardless of whether you have the day off or not you shouldn’t allow yourself to indulge in staying up and waking up late. I would strongly recommend you stick to a strict schedule of going to bed at 11PM and waking up at 8AM. Nine hours is the ideal amount of sleep for an adult to get per night, any more than that is both unhealthy and a waste of your day.”

“Jesus Christ, Kankri. Can you at least wait until after I’ve had a coffee to start lecturing me?” You said, rolling your eyes.

“Please don’t take the lord’s name in vain, Karkat. And you should really cut back on your caffeine intake as well. Caffeine addiction is a serious health concern, Karkat. It may also be what is causing your sleep problems. I strongly recommend you cut caffeine out of your diet.”

“Oh, my fucking god, Kankri. I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions,” you said, heading to the kitchen to make yourself a cup of coffee despite what Kankri was saying.

“Language, Karkat, honestly,” Kankri said, sounding exasperated.

You were very conscious of how Kankri hadn’t acknowledged Dave at all. You wondered why, but you were also glad he hadn’t subjected Dave to any lecturing yet. Dave followed you into the kitchen and pulled his shades down just enough to give you a look that screamed, ‘What the fuck.’ You rolled your eyes with a shrug, silently saying ‘That’s Kankri for you.’

When the coffee finished brewing, you and Dave both reluctantly took your mugs back into the living room. You settled on the couch beside each other, just waiting for Kankri to start back up again.

“Where’s dad?” You asked.

“He’s visiting Psii at the moment,” Kankri said before turning to Dave, “Hello, David.”

“Hey,” Dave said back plainly.

“How have you been in the years since I’ve seen you?”

Dave shrugged, “Not bad. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. I apologize for being so blunt, but why are you here?” Kankri said, looking at Dave emotionlessly.

You could see that that made Dave uncomfortable. “Uh…” 

“He’s here because he’s my boyfriend,” you said, annoyed. “Not that you would know, but people usually bring their significant other home for Christmas.”

“Karkat, that was deeply insensitive, but I will let it go,” he said in that holier than thou way of his. “I was unaware of your relationship status. Congratulations. I would just like to remind you both that premarital sex is a sin and I sincerely hope you haven’t been engaging in such tomfoolery.”

A blush quickly rose to Dave’s cheeks and you dropped your face into your hands. “Oh, my god, Kankri. That is _so_ not your business,” you groaned.

“Excuse you, you are my sibling. Your immortal soul is definitely my business.”

“Sorry, but no,” You said, standing up and pulling Dave up with you. “We aren’t having this conversation. Bye.” You dragged Dave out of the living room and into your bedroom.

“Well, that was mortifying,” Dave said, still blushing.

“Interactions with Kankri always are,” you grumbled, sitting back on your bed.

Dave walked over and joined you. “Is it shitty of me that I kinda want to have really loud sex to piss him off?”

You laughed, “As funny as that would be, I don’t want to deal with the aftermath of that.”

“That’s fair,” he said, taking your hand and playing with it. “I just realized I don’t have any gifts for your dad or brother. Shit. I should probably go buy some, shouldn’t I?”

“I guess,” you said with a shrug. “I have gifts for them so I could just put your name on them.”

“Maybe,” Dave said. “I’d like to get your dad something at least. I really like your dad, I want to do something for him.”

You smiled at him, “You’re sweet. We can go shopping if you want.”

“Cool,” Dave said. “It’s going to be so weird to walk around here again. I haven’t been here in so long.”

“Hasn’t changed much,” you said.

After you and Dave finished your coffees and got ready to go you slid out of your room, trying to get around Kankri without him noticing you. You crept into the kitchen and wrote a note for your dad, simply reading, ‘Out with Dave brb,’ before sneaking back out and over to the door. You and Dave slipped on your shoes and out of the house as quickly and quietly as you could.

You both breathed a sigh of relief when you successfully got outside without having to suffer through another interaction with your brother. You walked down the driveway to your rented sedan, hand in hand, and pulled out of your neighbourhood. You decided to take a walk down memory lane and headed to the mall you and Dave used to beg your dad to take you to as kids.

“It somehow looks shittier than I remember,” Dave said as he drove towards it.

You laughed and said, “Trust me, it’s always been this shitty. You just have nostalgia goggles.”

You and Dave couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere reasonable and ended up at the very back of the lot. It took a full five minutes to walk from the car to the mall and you were feeling pretty salty by the time you got there. Fuck Christmas crowds and the horses they road in on.

As soon as you opened the doors to the mall you said to Dave, “We’ve made a terrible mistake.”

You always avoided going to malls during December, especially on Christmas eve, and you were being reminded in stark clarity why you did that. Shit sucked. It was packed, everyone was stressed, and there was a constant stream of obnoxious Christmas music.

“Let’s get this over with,” Dave said, pulling you along by a hand. “I was hoping this would be a fun little blast to the past, but I somehow forgot what Christmas is like. Would your dad like a watch? That seems like an easy dad gift.”

“Sure, that works,” you said. You took the lead and dragged Dave over to the nearest jewellery store. 

While Dave checked out watches you wandered around, looking at the displays. You ended up lingering by the engagement rings, because of course you did. Your romantic little heart sung at the thought of receiving one from Dave one day. You had only been dating for a week and you were already dreaming about marrying him. And you may or may not have had a Pinterest board dedicated to planning your hypothetical wedding. You were pretty embarrassed about that so you decided that you would move on before Dave came over to you. He was still busy though, so you let yourself indulge in your fantasies for a while longer. 

You admired the materials and finishes, settings and stones, trying to find what combinations you preferred. You had no interest in anything that had a prominent stone, simple bands appealed to you far more. There was one ring in particular that caught your eye. A thin black band with a ruby inlay. It was perfect and you fell in love with it.

“Whatcha looking at?” Dave asked, placing is chin on your shoulder.

You jumped in surprise. You didn’t even notice him approach you. “Uh…” you said.

“Engagement rings? Why, Karkat, how romantic,” Dave said mockingly. “You must really like me.”

You blushed. That was exactly what you were hoping to avoid. “Shut up,” you grumbled, embarrassed.

Dave kissed your cheek, “I’m just teasing, my love,” he said, wrapping his arms around your waist. He had a small bag in one hand so he must have bought a watch already. “See one you like?”

You crossed your arms, still embarrassed, “Maybe.”

“Which one?”

You felt weirdly reluctant to point it out, as if you would be showing your hand that you really _do_ like him that much. Which was stupid. You loved him, he loved you. You knew this. Acknowledging that you were being stupid was what got you to tap the case and say, “The black and red one.” 

Dave leaned a little further over your shoulder to get a better look at it. “Nice,” he said, “It’s very you.” He gave you another kiss on the cheek then.

“Does that mean you like it?” You asked.

“Of course,” he said, “It’s very you, and I like you, ergo I like it.”

You smiled, feeling shy. “Well, good. So, what did you get my dad?” You asked, wanting to change the subject.

Dave pulled a narrow box out of the bag, still hanging over your shoulder. “Seemed like something he might like. Nothing fancy, but still nice,” he said, opening the box to reveal a simple silver watch with a black leather strap.

“Yeah, I think he’ll like it,” you said. “Good job.”

“Why, thank you,” Dave said, dropping the box back into the bag. “What’s a good passive aggressive gift I could get for your brother that’s not _so_ passive aggressive that he’ll snap and murder me?”

“An excellent question,” you said, leading Dave out of the store. “If you think of something, let me know. I’d love ideas.”

“I considered buying him a box of condoms, but I think he’d explode if I did.”

You laughed, “Oh my god, I would pay to see that.”

“What else could we do?” He asked.

“We could make a donation to planned parenthood in his name?”

Dave threw his head back and barked out a ‘Ha!’ “That might fall into the ‘He’ll Kill Us’ category, but fuck, it would be funny. Maybe we could get him a how-to guide on how to mind your own business?”

You laughed, “Manners For Dummies.”

“That’s the one,” Dave said with a grin. “That has to exist, right?”

“It must,” you said, making a B-line for a bookstore.

You dragged Dave over to the self-help section and set about your mission.

Only a few seconds into your search you heard Dave laugh again. He pulled a book off the shelf to show you the cover. “Flirting For Dummies. This one would be pretty funny too.”

You chuckled, “It would be.”

“…Are we being mean?” Dave asked.

“Kinda, but he deserves it,” you said continuing to look through the stacks. “Here we go, Etiquette For Dummies. Let’s get out of here.”

Dave took the book from you and insisted upon buying it himself, “It’s my passive aggressive gift, I’ll buy it,” He’d said. Once the transaction was complete you both rushed out of the mall as quickly as you could.

The drive home was blissfully absent of corny Christmas music, replaced instead with Dave’s rambling. You were pretty sure he was talking about some music theory thing, but you weren’t really listening. Something about cents? You had no idea. 

When you arrived back home Kankri was thankfully absent. You didn’t know where he was, and you didn’t care. As long as you didn’t have to deal with him you were happy.

You rifled around your dad’s Christmas supplies, looking for wrapping paper and trying not to stumble upon unwrapped gifts. You found a couple rolls of paper in his closet and brought one back to your room.

“I hope you’re better at this shit than I am,” You said to Dave, “cause I am literal garbage at wrapping shit.”

“Great, so am I. This is going to be rough.”

You sat cross-legged on the floor together, trying and failing to wrap the gifts you bought that day as well as some things you got while still in New York. Tape kept getting to stuck to your fingers before you could even get it on the present, Dave never cut enough paper to completely cover the gift, and whenever either of you ‘finished’ wrapping something it looked like utter horseshit. Dave got so frustrated at one point he pushed his shades onto the top of his head so he could see what he was doing better.

You groaned in frustration. “I’m losing my goddamn mind. If I have to rewrap this same fucking thing one more time, I’m going to hurl myself into the sun,” you said.

“Agreed,” Dave grumbled. “Fuck wrapping paper, fuck tape, and fuck my piss poor spatial awareness skills.”

“Could we just not wrap them? Like, leave them under the tree as is? Is that allowed?”

Dave shrugged, “Do you have gift bags?”

“Fuck,” you said, “Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?”

“Don’t know, guess I’m just smarter than you,” Dave said with a smirk.

“You’re an ass,” you said, getting up to go find bags.

You found a couple of gift bags and tissue paper in your dad’s room and brought them back to yours, hoping your dad wasn’t planning on using them. You made quick work of wrapping your gifts when using the bags.

“Fuck, we’re stupid,” Dave said. “We spent all that time wrapping our way toward simultaneous brain aneurysms when we could have just done this from the start.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty dumb,” you said, dropping another gift into a bag.

“Man, when we have our own place lets never buy wrapping paper. It’ll be a gift bag only household.” 

You paused what you were doing and looked up at him, wide-eyed. _You_ always imagined that you and Dave would be together forever, that he would be your happily ever after, but you didn’t know that he apparently wanted that too. It was kind of stupid in hindsight. He loved you, why wouldn’t he want to live with you someday? It seemed like a bit of a no-brainer, but you were still surprised.

“What?” Dave asked.

“Nothing,” you said, looking back down at your wrapping, trying to hide your blush.

“Whaaat?” Dave whined, poking your cheek.

“Oh, my god, you are such a child,” you said, smacking his hand away from your face. “If you must know, I was just surprised to hear that you would like to live with me someday.”

Dave raised an eyebrow at you, amused, “Why would you be surprised that I’d want to live with you? People who love each other typically move in together at some point, you know.”

“I know, I know,” you said, “I’m just shocked that you like me as much as I like you. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.”

“Well, you better cause it’s not gonna change,” Dave said, leaning over to give you a kiss on the cheek.

Your blush deepened, “You don’t know that.”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure I do,” Dave said, “I’ve loved you since we were eight, dude. I think if I was ever going to stop it would have happened by now.”

You couldn’t fight the smile forming on your lips, “As sweet as that is, I’m sure there must have been a point when we were separated were you forgot all about me.”

Dave scoffed, “No way, dude. I couldn’t forget about you if I tried. I was _obsessed_ with you,” he said, rolling his eyes at himself.

“Yeah, well, so was I,” you said, smiling up at him shyly.

“You were obsessed with yourself? Geez, Karkat, self centered much?” Dave said teasingly.

You shoved his shoulder, “You know what I meant, jackass.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dave said, leaning over to give you another kiss on the cheek.

“Do you have anything else to wrap? Cause I’m done,” you asked.

“Nah, man. I only had two things, so I finished a while ago,” Dave said.

“Good,” you said, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Dave’s lips.

Dave chuckled into the kiss, placing his hands on your cheeks. He pulled away after only a moment and gave you a tiny grin before slipping an arm under your knees and the other one around your back, standing up with you in his arms. He gave you another quick kiss before laying you on your bed. He grabbed your waistband tugged your pants off.

“Well alright then,” you said with a grin.

Dave smiled at you and crouched at the foot of your bed. He placed a hand on your belly and slid it up, pushing your sweater up to your ribs. He swept his eyes over your over your body and said, “You’re so fucking sexy.”

He pulled himself halfway up the bed, holding himself up on his elbows, and lowered his face to the crook of your thigh. He dragged his tongue down the groove where your leg met your hip before placing a single, light kiss to your clit. You gasped and he moved on, sucking a hickey into your thigh. He pulled back, admiring the little mark for a moment. He then gave the hickey a kiss and shifted his attention to your other leg. He trailed gentle kisses from your knee back down your thigh. 

“Dave,” you sighed.

“Mhm,” he hummed against you. He veered to the side and started to softly kiss at your lips, occasionally sliding his tongue along the seam.

You gasped and lifted your hips, trying to get him to apply more pressure to you.

He moved a hand from where it was resting beside your hip and gingerly pushed you back down. “Patience, love,” he mumbled against you.

He got that you wanted him to pick up the pace though and he dripped just the tip of his tongue inside you. He swiped it up then and took your clit into his mouth.

You moaned before remembering where you were, and your hand flew up to your mouth to muffle any future noises.

Dave alternated between sucking on your clit and rubbing his tongue in circles against it. You were struggling to hold still; knees bending up and kicking out, toes curling, fingers grasping.

You found yourself with your free hand buried in Dave’s hair, pulling him closer. After one particularly rough tug Dave groaned against you.

“Shit, sorry,” you gasped, looking down to see if Dave was okay, removing your knuckles from between your teeth.

“Mm-mm,” Dave moaned with a minute shake of his head, looking up at you through his bangs with lust in his eyes.

You raised an eyebrow and gave his hair another, experimental tug. Dave moaned against you and doubled down, picking up the pace and eating you out with even more enthusiasm. Along with it he pushed a finger inside you.

“Oh, fuck,” you sighed dropping your head back down on the bed, bringing your knuckles back to your mouth. You were going to need some help staying quiet.

Finding that you were more than wet enough to take his finger, Dave added a second, followed by a third. He crooked all three up, pressing them into your G-spot.

Your groaned into your hand, glad you put it there. You kept up a constant, light tug on Dave’s hair with your other hand, making him moan and sigh against you.

You couldn’t help lifting your hips, practically grinding Dave’s face into your crotch. If the sounds he was making were any indication, he didn’t mind.

Your legs started to shake, and you knew that you were getting close. You were enjoying yourself though and didn’t want it to end. You wanted more.

“Dave,” you sighed.

He moaned against you again.

“Dave,” you said, more insistent, gently pulling him up by the hair.

He looked up at you with heavy lidded eyes, chest heaving, “Yeah?”

You released your grip on his hair and held your arms out to him, “Come here.”

Dave smiled at you, pulling his fingers out of you. He crawled up your body, slotting his hips between your legs. “What can I do for you, my love?” He asked, kissing your neck.

“You can put your dick in me,” you sighed into his ear.

He chuckled, “With pleasure- literally.”

He leaned back, kneeling between your legs. He made quick work of unbuckling his belt and unzipping his fly.

Too worked up to wait, you reached out and pulled his rock-hard cock out of his underwear and gave it a firm stroke.

“Fuck,” Dave sighed, looking down at your hand on him. “Oh, man, your tiny hands are such an ego boost.”

Dave shucked his jeans down his thighs and leaned back over you, replacing the hand on his dick with his and lining himself up with you. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” you said, wrapping your arms around his neck.

Dave slowly started to push inside, and you threw your hand back over your mouth. It was a good thing you did because after being teased for so long and only having Dave’s fingers inside you, his dick felt like heaven.

He started up a steady rhythm, rocking into you. Your eyes squeezed shut your legs pulled up, heels to your ass. You raised your hips, allowing Dave to reach further within you.

You took your hand from your mouth and bit your lip instead. With one hand you started to rub your clit in circles and with the other you grabbed a handful of Dave’s hair.

Dave groaned against your neck and bucked into you, making the bed creak loudly.

“Whoops,” he whispered, carrying on at a gentler pace.

You wanted to hold him, wrap your arms around him and pull him against you, but both of your hands were already occupied. You didn’t want to take your hand out of Dave hair given how much it affected him, and you definitely weren’t about to remove your hand from your clit. 

“Dave,” you sighed.

“Yeah?” he asked breathlessly.

“Touch me,” you said, “hold me.”

“As you wish,” he said with a grin before slipping an arm under your back and pressing his chest to yours.

You threw your legs around his hips and pulled him even closer. The change in position made it a little difficult to rub your clit, but the added contact with Dave was worth it.

You were gasping, starting to shake again, and this time you were ready to come. Dave’s brows were scrunched up and he was panting, open mouthed. From the looks of it he was about ready to come too.

“Kiss me,” you moaned.

Dave’s lips crashed against yours, kissing you like his life depended on it. He licked and nipped your lips, quietly moaning against them. He slipped his tongue into your mouth and you gladly let him in. He ran the tip of his tongue along the roof of your mouth and you moaned around it.

“Please tell me you’re close,” he groaned, “cause I am.”

“Yeah,” you breathed, “yeah.”

“Thank fuck,” he sighed before speeding up the pace of his thrusts.

Your head fell back, and your mouth opened in a silent scream. Your legs fell from Dave’s back, pulling up till your knees were by your shoulders. All of your muscles tensed and as a result the hand in Dave’s hair pulled a little harder.

“Oh, fuck!” Dave groaned his voice pulled tight. He moaned against your neck, burying himself as deeply inside of you as he could, his thrusts becoming sporadic. He was coming inside you again, you realized.

If you weren’t so far gone you would have been embarrassed that that was what brought you to your own orgasm, but as it was, you let yourself enjoy the moment.

You relaxed back into your bed, gasping for breath. Dave collapsed on top of you, breathing just as hard.

“Sorry,” he said breathlessly against your neck.

You wrapped your arms around his back and held him to your chest. You rubbed a hand along his spine and stroked his hair with the other. You didn’t want to move. If you could have stayed there, chest to chest with Dave in your arms forever than you would have.

Dave lifted his face from where it was tucked in the crook of your neck and rested his forehead against yours. “Sorry, love,” he said quietly, “snuck up on me.”

“S’okay,” you slurred, too blissed out to talk.

“Should have used a condom,” he said.

You shrugged weakly, “Whatever.”

You felt too good to care. When you came back down to Earth you’d probably feel differently, but that was future Karkat’s problem.

“You know,” you mumbled, “in erotica they always talk about how it feels to have someone come inside you. They say shit like ‘His member pulsed and I felt the heat of his release as it splashed against my inner walls, filling me,’ or whatever the fuck, but it really doesn’t feel like anything.”

Dave laughed, “Erotica makes everything sound so weird. Why would they describe it like that? The fantasy of it, I guess? Cause you definitely don’t feel jizz ‘splash against your inner walls.’”

You looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“What?” he said, “I’ve had a dick or two in my butt before. Didn’t you know that?” 

“No?” you said. Dave had made some homoerotic comments and jokes before, but you didn’t know he actually meant them.

“Oh,” Dave said, “well, now you do, I guess?”

“Huh,” you said. The thought of Dave getting fucked in the ass was actually really hot. Should you get a strap-on? Would Dave like that? You think _you_ would like it.

“What’re you thinking about?” Dave asked. He seemed nervous, as if you would judge him for fucking dudes.

“I’m considering getting a strap-on,” you said honestly.

“Oh?” Dave said with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

“If that’s something you’d be into,” you said.

“Oh, dude, I’m so into it. I’m deeply entrenched in that shit,” Dave said.

“Good to know,” you said returning his grin.

“I’m so stoked,” Dave said, returning his face to your neck. “I’m so down for you fucking me, dude.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you said, turning your face to kiss his cheek. “We should probably get cleaned up though. Your dick is still in me and its going to make a mess when you pull it out.”

“Yeah, true,” Dave sighed.

He reached over to the Kleenex box on your nightstand and pulled it closer, grabbing a handful and placing them under your ass. You grabbed a few and pressed them to were Dave’s dick disappeared inside you.

“Okay,” you said, “this is probably the best we can do with what we have.”

“Yeah,” Dave said. “Here we go,” He pulled back and as he did you felt his cum gush out of you.

“Aaand I’m a jizz fountain,” you said, trying to keep cum from getting on your bed.

“Sorry,” Dave said again, wiping off his dick before he got anything on his jeans.

You shrugged, “Whatever, it’s not the first time.”

“Sorry about that too,” Dave said, pulling up his jeans and buckling his belt, “Gotta stop relying on my pullout skills; they’re apparently not very good. Really need to get my shit together and use condoms more.” 

You shrugged again before getting up to throw out your handful of jizz covered Kleenexes. “I might get an IUD or something. But until then, yeah, we should step up our condom game,” You said as you grabbed a clean pair of p.j pants and underwear from your suitcase and pulled them on.

It was then that you heard you dad’s car pull into the driveway, the light from his headlights streaming in through your window.

“My dad’s home, so we should probably go do Christmas eve stuff,” you said, offering a hand to pull Dave up.

He took it and stood, “Yeah, probably. Hopefully we don’t smell too strongly of sex.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did i time when i posted the first chapter so that if i updated everyday the christmas eve chapter would come out on christmmas eve and the christmas chapter would come out on christmas? Why yes, yes i did. (This entire thing was already written and finished before i started posting btw)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas y'all

Your name is Karkat Vantas and your day started with a bang. Literally.

You were startled awake by your dad pounding on your door. “Wake up! It’s Christmas!” he yelled from outside your room.

Dave had bolted up, breathing heavy and eyes wide. “Your dad nearly gave me a heart attack,” he said, placing a hand on his chest.

“Yeah, sorry, he does that every year. I should have warned you,” you said, rubbing his back.

“Nah, it’s okay,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. “I’ll live.”

You dad knocked on your door again, “Lets goooo!”

“He’s such a child on Christmas,” you grumbled, climbing out of bed.

You and Dave groggily walked into the living room, finding both your dad and Kankri waiting for you.

“Took you long enough,” your dad said. “Take a seat and let’s get started.” He then slid off the couch and shuffled towards the tree on his knees. By the time you and Dave sat down on the couch your dad had already assumed his roll as ‘Santa’ and started rifling through gifts and throwing them at their recipients.

Your dad had gotten you a new scarf, hat, and gloves, a couple of romcoms on DVDs, a big knit sweater, and a gift card for a bookstore. An excellent haul in your opinion.

You gave your dad a book of dad jokes, which you regretted instantly, and Kankri a new sweater.

Kankri gave both you and Dave bibles which you immediately followed up by giving him Etiquette For Dummies. Your dad laughed his ass off and Kankri glared at you. You decided to put both your name and Dave’s on that one because it would’ve been a little too pointed if just Dave gave it to him.

Your dad got Dave a backpack that was shaped like a dinosaur and Dave was delighted. “Oh, my god the zipper is where his mouth is! You open it by opening his mouth, this is so cool!”

Your dad was clearly pleased that Dave liked his gift so much. In return Dave gave your dad his gift, surprising him. “Shit, kid, you didn’t need to get me anything,” he said pulling the narrow box out of the gift bag. Opening the box his eyes went a little wide, “A watch? This is awfully nice, Dave, I hope you didn’t spend too much on me.”

Dave shrugged, looking shy, “It wasn’t too much.”

“Thank you, Dave,” your dad said, fastening the watch on his wrist. He looked genuinely touched by Dave’s gift.

Dave looked pleased that your dad liked his gift, smiling and fidgeting with his shirt.

Lastly you and Dave exchanged your gifts for each other.

You handed Dave a small, poorly wrapped box, trying and failing to conceal a smile. You were extremely proud of the gift you had gotten him, and you couldn’t wait to see him open it.

After struggling through the layers upon layers of tape you used to hold your wrapping job together Dave was finally able to get it all off to reveal a plain cardboard box. Once he peeled off the final layer of tape holding the box closed, he opened it, and his face went slack.

“Is this what I think it is?” he asked.

“Maybe,” you said with a grin.

“Is this a dinosaur tooth?” he asked, looking up at you, slack jawed.

Your smiled widened, “It is. It’s not just from any old dinosaur though. It’s an ankylosaur, specifically a nodosaur tooth.”

Dave continued to stare at you, mouth agape. You wished Dave wasn’t wearing his shades, you wanted to see his expression fully, to know what emotion was in his eyes.

Dave looked back down at the box in his hands. “Fuck, dude,” he said quietly. “You’re gonna make me cry.”

Your smile softened feeling painfully endeared. Nothing made you happier than making Dave happy. You’d scoured the internet for weeks trying to find that tooth. When you finally found it, you were so excited you didn’t even care about the exorbitant price tag. Well, you didn’t care _too_ much. 

Dave looked back up at you with a gentle smile. “Thanks, Kat,” he said. “Really. This is… thank you.”

“Of course, my love,” you said, leaning over and giving him light kiss on the cheek.

Dave turned his head and gave you a peck on the lips in return, smiling against them. 

“You’re adorable,” Your dad said with his chin in his hands, breaking the two of you out of your moment.

“Yeah, yeah,” you grumbled, embarrassed. You’d completely forgotten about your dad and brother in the room.

“Okay, it’s your turn,” Dave said, slipping off the couch to grab a box from under the tree. He carried it over to you and plopped back on the couch beside you. “Have at it, my dude.”

The box was printed with a pattern of holly berries and was held closed with a single strip of tape. Peeling it off, you opened the box and saw a thick pair of fuzzy red socks and a small bag of some kind of fancy coffee. You noticed that the socks were wrapped around something and picked them up out of the box. Pulling the socks off you found a floral print coffee mug that said, ‘Eat a bag of dicks,’ on it in a flowy cursive font.

You laughed. “Nice,” you said appreciatively.

Dave shrugged, “It’s nothing compared to what you got me, but I figured you’d like practical things more than knick-knacks. There’s more underneath there.”

You smiled and took the bag of coffee out and set it aside. There was a piece of tissue paper separating the layers of the gift. Under the paper were chocolate bars and bags of candy covering the entire surface of the box.

“You’re going to give me diabetes if you’re not careful, Dave,” you said with a smile.

“The idea of this was that it’s like a movie marathon kit. You always drink coffee and eat candy when we watch movies, so I figured you’d like this,” Dave said, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

“Thank you, my love,” you said before giving Dave another quick kiss on the cheek.

Dave blushed and smiled shyly. “There’s one more thing under there.”

“Geez, Dave,” you said, “you didn’t need to get me all this.”

You pushed the candy and the second layer of tissue paper out of the way and saw a fuzzy black sweater underneath. Touching it you found that it was impossibly soft. You pulled it out and saw that it was way too big for you; exactly how you liked your sweaters.

“Holy fuck, that’s soft,” you mumbled.

“Language,” Kankri said.

You rolled your eyes and said, “Thanks, Dave,” again.

“No problem,” he said.

After gifts had been opened and wrapping paper had been cleaned up your dad and Kankri got dressed and left for church. Kankri gave you the stink eye for not coming along, but your dad just rolled his eyes and gently pushed him out the door.

You made two cups of coffee using your fancy new grounds while Dave threw some pop tarts in the toaster. Neither of you had the energy to make yourselves a proper breakfast, so processed sugary garbage it was. You sat together at your kitchen table while you ate, and Dave set up his laptop. His mom wanted to video call him since they wouldn’t be together for Christmas.

As soon as the call went through and Dave’s mom was on screen she excitedly exclaimed, “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, mom,” Dave said considerably calmer.

Dave’s mom was wearing a full face of make up and a pink Santa hat covering curly blonde hair. Just like when you saw her photo in Dave’s room, you were struck by both her resemblance to Dave and her beauty.

“And you must be Karkat!” she said. “Merry Christmas, sweetie!”

You blushed at Dave’s mom calling you ‘sweetie’ and shyly said, “Merry Christmas,” back.

“Il est mignon,” Dave’s mom said with a smile. “Bon travail.”

“Oh, my god, mom,” Dave groaned.

“Quoi?” she said, “Il ne parle pas Français. Je peux dire qu’il es mignon si je veux.”

Dave sighed, “Fine, whatever.

You watched the exchange with no idea what was going on. You didn’t speak a word of French. 

“Uh,” you said.

“So,” Dave’s mom said, clapping her hands together, “did you have a good Christmas?”

Dave took over talking for you, knowing how awkward you were about meeting new people. He told her what he got you, and his mom said that it was sweet and thoughtful of him. He gushed about the tooth you got him, and she was just as excited as he was. It seemed like he really did get his love of science from his mom.

After chatting for a while, Dave’s mom had to go visit a family friend and they said their goodbyes.

“Je t’aime mon petit chouchou,” Dave’s mom said.

“Love you too,” Dave said.

“Prend soin de lui,” she said. “Je l’aime.”

Dave smiled and said, “I will.”

“Good,” she said. “Bye-bye you two!”

“See you,” Dave said.

“Bye,” you said shyly.

The call ended and Dave closed his laptop.

“I had no idea what was happening for half of that,” you said. “What was she saying?”

“Sorry about that,” Dave said. “She was just talking about how she likes you. She thinks you’re cute.”

“Oh,” you said surprised. “Well, that’s good. I’m glad she likes me.”

Dave smiled and gave you a kiss on the cheek, “I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to not like you.”

“You’re biased,” you said with a smile you couldn’t fight. “Let’s go watch T.V or something.”

“’Kay.”

You led Dave into the living room and plopped back down on the couch. You turned on the T.V. and flipped through channels without seeing anything interesting. The same three Christmas movies were playing on every channel and you had already seen them all a million times.

A couple of minutes into your search Dave suddenly said, “Ooh, The Price Is Right. I’m the best at this shit.”

You turned to him with an eyebrow raised. “Sorry, Dave but no, you’re not. I am,” you said confidently.

“Oh, really? Them’s fightin’ words,” Dave said, exaggerating his accent.

“That they are. You wanna make a bet?” you challenged.

“Oh, absolutely,” Dave said with a grin.

“What are we betting this time?” you asked.

“Hmm,” Dave hummed, “If you win, I’ll sit through a romcom marathon and I won’t complain.”

You laughed, “Are you sure you can even do that? Don’t go making bets you can’t deliver on, Dave.”

He scoffed, “Excuse you, I am a master of self control. Not a single scathing- yet accurate- remark will pass these lips. If you win that is.”

“If you say so,” you said, unconvinced.

“Your lack of faith in me hurts, Karkat,” Dave said, deadpan, “I hope you know that.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” you said, rolling your eyes. “So, what do you get if I lose?”

“It seems only fair that you would have to sit through a marathon of movies of my choosing without any complaints, doesn’t it?” Dave asked with a shit eating grin.

“Oh, god,” You said in mock horror, “I don’t know if I’d survive.”

“Interesting,” Dave said, his grin widening, “Are you considering backing out? I thought you said you were the best? Are you doubting your abilities?”

You squinted at him incredulously, “I see what you’re doing, mister. But fine,” you said, extending a hand for a shake.

“Excellent,” Dave said, taking your hand. “You’re going to regret this.”

You laughed, “That’s not typically what you’d like to hear during a handshake.”

“No, but at least it’s honest.”

There were a couple of episodes of The Price Is Right scheduled to air back to back, so you decided to start playing when a new one came on and that you would only play along with the group games.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Dave said, cracking his knuckles when the next one came on.

Round one was guessing the price of a laptop and printer combo.

“$1000!” you yelled.

“Holy shit, dude, chill. $1001,” Dave said.

“Oh, fuck that shit!” you said, “That’s so cheap!”

“Excuse you, it’s a perfectly legitimate strategy,” Dave said.

“Actual retail price,” Drew Carrey said onscreen, “$1350!”

“Ha ha!” Dave exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, “Davey wins.”

“Oh, fuck you,” you said, “you only won cause you did that stupid adding-one-to-your-opponents-bet thing! New rule, our bets have to be at least $50 apart.”

Dave scoffed. “Changing the rules part way through the game? Who’s cheap now? But fine. I am a kind and generous man, so I’ll allow it,” he said with his nose in the air.

“Kind and generous my ass,” you grumbled.

Round two was a gold necklace.

“$1000!”

“Seriously, Kat? Is that the only guess you’re going to make this game?” Dave asked, side eyeing you.

You gave him the finger in response.

Dave laughed, “I’m gonna say $750, but even that’s being generous. That thing is fucking hideous, I wouldn’t even pay ten bucks for it.” 

“Well, let’s see what Drew has to say,” you said.

“Drew?” Dave said, “You two on a first name basis?”

“Shut up,” You said at the same time as Drew said, “$1250!”

“Ha! Suck it, Strider! Karkat wins!” you exclaimed excitedly.

Dave rolled his eyes while trying to fight off a smile.

Round three was a sound system.

“$1000!”

“Jesus Christ, Kat, really? $500,” Dave said.

“Actual retail price… $645!”

Dave slowly turned to look at you and gave you a shit eating grin, “Davey wins.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you said, crossing your arms.

“You gonna try guessing something other than $1000 for a change?” Dave asked.

“If the item seems to be worth more or less than $1000 then I will,” you said.

“Well, I mean, so far everything has been worth more or less than $1000 sooo,” Dave said cheekily.

“Okay, fuck off,” you said.

Round four was a collection of six pairs on sunglasses.

“Ha! I’ve got this one in the bag,” Dave said, leaning back and crossing his arms cockily.

“We’ll see about that,” you said. “$250.”

“Nah, man. $500,” Dave said confidently.

“For sunglasses? That’s ridiculous,” you said.

“Actual retail price… $504!”

Dave uncrossed his arms and held out his hands, palms up, in a ‘behold’ gesture. “I know shades, my dude.”

“Whatever,” you said, crossing your arms with a pout.

“Come on, Kat. They were shades. Of course I got that one,” Dave said, bumping his shoulder against yours.

“Yeah, yeah,” you said, bumping him back.

Round five was a new phone with a data plan included.

“$2000!” you yelled.

“Ha! There’s that confidence back,” Dave said, “$1500.”

“I swear if I lose this one, I’m going to explode. You’ll be scraping my macerated innards off the ceiling for weeks,” you said.

“Please don’t, that sounds really gross,” Dave said.

“Says the guy who collects roadkill,” you said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“… Fair,” Dave said with a shrug.

“… the actual retail price is… $1807!”

“Fuuuuck!” you shrieked, throwing your head back against the couch. “Fuck this shit!” you growled at the ceiling.

“I’m so fucking tempted to tease you right now, but I think if I do, you’ll claw my eyes out,” Dave said cautiously.

You rolled your head to the side and glared at him, “You think?”

Dave awkwardly patted your arm in an attempt to be soothing. “It’s okay, dude.”

You sighed and lifted your head back up to look back the T.V, “This is torture.”

Round six was a ping pong table.

“$1000, whatever,” you grumbled.

“Oh, love,” Dave said, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. “Uh…$500, I guess?”

“Actual retail price… $910!”

“Of fucking course,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“I’m sorry, love,” Dave said sympathetically, giving you a peck on the cheek.

You sighed, “Whatever, it’s not a big deal.”

Dave hummed and rested his cheek on the top of your head. “Final round,” Dave said, “You wanna keep playing?”

“Not really,” you said, “I lose no matter what so what’s the point?”

“Aw, love,” Dave said gently, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bum you out.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m just being a baby,” you said leaning into him.

He gave you a kiss on the forehead before he rested his chin on your shoulder and said, “Want me to make it up to you?” in your ear.

“Depends on what you have in mind,” you said, trying not to smile.

“I have a couple ideas,” he said before kissing your neck.

“I guess I could humour you…” you said, tilting your head to the side to give Dave better access to your neck.

He chuckled breathily, “How magnanimous. You’re so selfless.”

“Yep, completely altruistic.”

“Mhm,” he hummed against your neck, sliding a hand down to start rubbing your clit.

“Dave,” you sighed, “we’re in the living room.”

“Nobody’s home,” he said.

You felt a little weird about fooling around on your dad’s couch, but you also found the idea that you could get caught exciting. Actually getting caught would be mortifying, but the possibility of it was kinda hot. You decided ‘fuck it’ and went with it.

“That’s true,” you said before swinging a leg over to straddle Dave’s lap.

“Oh, hi,” he said with a grin.

“Hi,” you said, reaching down to start palming his crotch.

He gasped when you touched him. You were happy to find that he was already starting to get hard. While he rubbed your clit, you jerked him through his pants. Frustrated by how awkward it was to try and give a handjob through pants you pulled Dave’s waistband down and pulled his dick out of his boxers.

Dave sighed, “Fuck, Kat.” 

You ran your hand along his dick in firm strokes, slowing down when your hand was around the head. Your hand was wet with pre as you slid your hand down his dick. I wasn’t enough to slide your hand along him smoothly though, so you took your hand from him, making Dave whine, and nudged his hand away from your crotch. He pulled back to look at you, concerned. Instead of reassuring him you slipped your fingers into your pants and dipped them inside and around yourself shallowly.

You pulled your hand out of your pants, now wet with your own spunk and returned it to Dave’s dick. Your hand slid along him smoothly and you grinned at him, pleased.

“Jesus Christ, that was hot,” Dave said, watching your hand on him.

He slid his hand into your pants and resumed his ministrations to your clit.

You dropped your forehead onto his shoulder, gasping and sighing. The hand you didn’t have around Dave’s dick your placed on the back of his head, running your fingers through his hair.

He moaned against your neck in a way that went directly to your crotch. You suddenly felt desperately, achingly empty. you lifted your face from his shoulder and pulled him in for a kiss by his hair. He moaned again and you needed him. 

“Dave,” you gasped, “please.”

“Mmm,” he hummed.

“Fuck me,” you said, “I need you.”

He pulled back and said, “Thank fuck for foresight,” before reaching a hand into his p.j pant’s pocket and took out a condom. “I had a feeling it would be a good idea to keep one on me at all times.”

“Thank fuck,” you said, standing up off his lap and pulling off your pants while he rolled the condom on.

You returned to his lap and knelt over him, grabbing his dick and holding it to you. “You good?” you asked.

“Yeah,” he sighed, watching as you slid his dick inside you.

His head fell back against the couch and he moaned, gripping your hips in a vice.

You slowly lowered yourself onto him, shocked by how different it felt to be on top. He always felt big, but now he felt _huge._ He was stretching you out more than he ever had before, and he was _so deep_. You could feel the head of his dick pressing against your cervix in a way that felt strange, but good.

When you were fully seated in his lap you had to take a second to just breathe. You leaned your head against Dave’s shoulder and didn’t move. Even though nothing was happening it felt _so good._ You took a moment to savour how it felt to have him inside you.

Dave rubbed his hand up and down your back and asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you moaned.

“Oh, fuck,” Dave sighed. “That was really fucking hot.”

“Mmm,” you hummed, slowly grinding your hips against his.

Although you were barely moving, feeling Dave shift inside you was enough to make you moan. You could tell he wanted more though. His hips were moving in tiny, restrained thrusts, trying to get any friction he could.

You raised yourself up slowly until only the head of his dick remained inside of you before sliding him back in. Dave gasped in relief, moving his hands back to your hips to help you bounce in his lap.

You braced your forearms on Dave’s shoulders, lifting your hips and dropping them back down as quickly as your thighs would allow. You couldn’t touch yourself like that, but you couldn’t spare a hand. You needed all the help you could get to keep up your pace. Riding Dave was way more tiring than you thought if would be.

Dave was loving it though. His head was thrown back and his face was twisted up in pleasure, moaning with every breath. You rested your forehead on one of your arms and panted against his neck.

“Dave,” you said.

“Yeah?” he moaned.

“Can you lie on your back?”

“’Kay,” he said, turning and throwing his legs onto the couch and lying back.

You placed your palms on his chest and ground against him, rolling your hips forward and back instead of lifting up. It was much easier on your thighs, which allowed you to enjoy yourself more.

Dave pushed and pulled your hips in time with your grinding. His eyes were squeezed shut and his jaw was clenched. You had a feeling he was close and that was unacceptable.

“Don’t even think about coming yet, Dave,” you said, gasping.

Dave groaned, “I’ll do my best, but no promises.” He moaned and his grip on your hips tightened, “Fuck, Kat. You feel so fucking good.”

You found that you really liked it when Dave complimented you during sex, so you said, “How good?”

“ _So_ fucking good,” he moaned. “You feel fucking incredible, _fuck,_ I would live inside you if I could. I’d build a fucking summer home in here. Oh _fuck,_ Kat, Jesus Christ. This feels too good, I can’t make metaphors right now. I can barely think. God, you’re going to fucking kill me, and I wont even mind.”

Your head was thrown back and you were gasping, loving Dave’s praise. You could feel yourself getting close, your muscles tightening and your legs twitching. You were almost there; you just needed a little more.

“Fuck, I’m close,” Dave groaned.

“Don’t you dare,” you gasped, “I’m almost there, don’t stop!”

Dave whined but held himself together. It looked like it was taking every ounce of his strength to not come on the spot.

God, you loved him, he was so good, so sweet. You leaned forward, pressing your chest to his as you kissed him. The change in angle felt so good and Dave seemed to think so too.

His grip on you got even tighter and he lifted his hips, pushing himself further inside you. He threw his head back and moaned loudly as he came.

You were so close, and you desperately wanted to come before Dave went soft, so you picked up the pace and road him for all he was worth. You moved your hips hard and fast, working Dave through his orgasm.

You finally came, pleasure hitting you like a truck. You screamed into Dave’s neck and dug your nails into his chest.

Dave clung to you and moaned, overwhelmed. You knew he was probably overstimulated to hell and back, but he let you keep going without complaint.

Once you were satisfied you stopped your griding and relaxed against him. You could feel his heart pounding against your chest and his heaving breath.

“Fuck, dude,” he gasped, “shit.”

“Yeah,” you sighed. “That was nice.”

Dave chuckled breathlessly, “It was.”

You continued to lie on Dave’s chest with your face tucked into the crook of his neck, your legs bracketing his hips. You could feel his heartbeat slow down and his breath tickle your ear. He was lazily running his fingertips along your spine and you felt so content. You never wanted to move again, but you knew you would have to before your family returned home.

“We should probably move,” you mumbled into his neck.

“Don’t wanna,” Dave grumbled, tightly wrapping his arms around your back.

You sighed. You didn’t want to get up either, but you knew you had to. “Come on, my family’s probably going to get home soon.”

Dave groaned but loosened his arms around you.

You sat up in Dave’s lap, his dick still inside you, and lifted yourself off of him. Dave pulled the condom off and tied it off. You grabbed your pants off the floor and extended a hand to Dave. He took it and you helped pull him off the couch before leading him back to your room.

You were both feeling sleepy and lethargic after your orgasms, so you decided to go back to bed for a nap. You both stripped down and crawled under your blanket, curling up around each other. You happily nestled your face into Dave’s chest and drifted off into a restful sleep the way you always did when you were in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to meee mooooore davekat poooooorn


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another late one. Sorry y'all.

Your name is Karkat Vantas and the rest of your week in Houston was spent avoiding your brother and hanging out with your dad.

Your dad cooked and baked for you everyday, wanting to spoil you as much as he could while you were home. You had missed your dad’s food and Dave loved getting to enjoy so many homecooked meals. 

You and Dave would go for walks to soak up the warm weather while it lasted. Snow and freezing temperatures were waiting for you back in New York and neither of you were looking forward to it.

You took a nostalgic tour around your hometown, visiting places from your childhood. You swung on the swings at your favourite park and walked down to the creek you used to play at. You walked through the playground at your elementary school, reminding each other of stories from when you were young. It brought back a lot of bittersweet memories.

When it was time to go back home you shared a tearful goodbye with you dad. You inherited your emotional nature from him so blubbering together was quite the sight. It made you _very_ glad you decided to say goodbye at home rather than at the airport. You and Kankri shared a much more composed goodbye by comparison.

Your dad pulled Dave in for a hug which Dave was clearly not expecting. He made a little squawk of surprise before awkwardly patting your dad’s back in return. Your dad released Dave with an amused smile and helped you carry your bags to your rental car. 

The airport was still busy, but the atmosphere was less tense than it was before Christmas. You and Dave killed time waiting for your flight by watching The Price Is Right on your phone and playing along. You were determined to redeem yourself. Dave still won 2:1 though.

The flight back from Houston was just as unpleasant as the flight there. Babies were crying, old people were snoring, and an inconsiderate asshole kept playing music out loud no matter how many times the flight attendants told him to stop. By the time the plane finally landed you were about ready to commit a felony.

As soon as you arrived back at your apartment you gave Kanaya a quick hello and collapsed into bed , glad to be home. You hoped to get a short nap in, but you couldn’t sleep. You never could when you weren’t with Dave. He was the best sleep aid you’d ever tried.

You spent the rest of your break gossiping with Kanaya, trading barbs with Sollux, and hanging out with Dave. You were the happiest you had been in years. You had friends, a loving relationship, and you felt the most confident you ever had. Life was actually pretty great for once.

On the last day of winter break Dave messaged you.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 11:28 –

TG: hey kat

TG: you free today?

CG: YEAH

CG: WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND?

TG: i was just thinking

TG: you know

TG: its been a couple weeks since we started sleeping together so

TG: should probably take a pregnancy test

TG: its been long enough right?

CG: OH YEAH

CG: IT HAS

CG: WE SHOULD PROBABLY DO THAT

TG: i was thinking I could go pick one up and bring it over to you

TG: if youre feeling up to it today that is

CG: THAT WORKS

CG: TODAY IS FINE

TG: k cool

TG: should I do that now?

CG: MAY AS WELL

CG: I HAVE NOTHING GOING ON RIGHT NOW

TG: ok cool

TG: ill be there soon

CG: OKAY, SEE YOU

TG: see you

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [CG] at 11:34 --

You paced your living room anxiously. You were feeling so good earlier that day and now you felt like you could puke from nerves. How could you forget about that big ass elephant in the room? At least Dave remembered.

Fuck, you better not be pregnant. You don’t want to deal with that. You thought you would know what you wanted to do by now, but you didn’t. There were pros and cons to keeping it or getting rid of it. You liked the idea of having a kid with Dave, but it was a terrible time for it to happen. You just hoped to fuck you wouldn’t need to make that choice.

After a couple of minutes of pacing trenches into your living room carpet you heard Dave knock on your door. You quickly walked over and opened the door.

“Hey, dude. I got the stuff,” he said, raising the grocery bag in his hand. He looked just as nervous as you felt, brows scrunched and his free hand fidgeting.

“Let’s get this over with,” you said, turning and walking to your room.

You dropped onto your bed and Dave sat beside you.

“So,” Dave said, reaching into the bag, “I got the test, of course.” He pulled the box out and laid it on the bed. “But I also got some chocolate to either be conciliatory or celebratory, depending on the mood.” He then pulled two Kitkat bars out.

“Alright,” you said, picking up the test and standing up. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” he said.

You took the box into the bathroom and pulled out one of the plastic wrapped sticks. You anxiously read the instructions and took a deep breath. After taking the most stressful piss of your life you took the test and the box back to your room.

When you opened the door to your room you saw Dave stilling sitting on your bed, fidgeting and bouncing his leg anxiously. “Oh, hey,” he said looking up at you. “How’d it go?”

“Fine,” you said with a shrug. “It’ll take a couple minutes.”

You sat down beside him, set the test aside, and set a timer for five minutes on your phone. 

You sat in silence for a moment before Dave said, “You okay?”

“I guess,” you said. “I mean, I’ve been better.”

“I’m sorry about this, Kat,” Dave mumbled, taking your hand. “I really fucked up, huh?”

“None of that,” you said, bumping his shoulder with yours.

You didn’t want Dave to beat himself up. Feeling guilty wouldn’t do anybody any good. Besides, it takes two to tango. Yeah, he came in you, but you weren’t against it at the time.

Dave rested his cheek on the top of your head and sighed. “You know I’m in this for the long haul, right?”

“I know,” you said.

“No matter what.”

You smiled a bit, “I know.”

“Do you know what you want to do?”

You sighed and leaned into him, “No. I thought I would by now, but I don’t.”

“Well,” he said, “whatever you decide, we can make it work. If you don’t want it then that’s fine. But if you do, we can figure it out. I mean, my mom is kinda loaded, and she definitely wouldn’t mind helping us out. I’m not big on asking for help, but I could swallow my pride for that. We could move in together and take a year off school. Get part time jobs and go back to school when the kid is old enough.” Dave shrugged. “I just want you to know that whatever you choose, it’ll be alright.”

You held your linked hands up and kissed his knuckles. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, placing a kiss to the top of your head. 

Your phone’s alarm went off, playing an obnoxiously cheerful tune. Dave removed his face from your head and his knee started to bounce again. You turned it off and looked at Dave, too nervous to check the test.

“Want me to do it?” he asked.

You nodded. You couldn’t do it, you were too anxious. You didn’t know what you’d do if it was positive.

He reached over you and picked up the test from where you had left it on your bed. He took a breath and turned it over.

“Negative,” he said, showing it to you.

You heaved a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank fuck.”

A wave of relief washed over you. Tension you didn’t know you were holding released and your shoulders relaxed. You hadn’t wanted Dave to know just how anxious you were, so you had been holding a lot in. He already felt guilty enough without you freaking out about it. You weren’t opposed to the idea of having kids, but you did _not_ want to have a kid at nineteen.

Dave chuckled breathily and gave you a kiss on your temple. “Well that was stressful.”

“Yeah,” you said. “I love you, but I do _not_ want to have a baby right now.”

“Ditto,” he said. “Definitely not right now.”

“Yeah,” you said, leaning into him again.

Dave handed you one of the KitKats and took one for himself. “Cheers,” he said, tapping his KitKat to yours.

You both ate your chocolate in comfortable silence. You took the time to think about your future, something you usually avoided like that plague. You considered what it might be like to have a kid with Dave one day. 

You were surprised to find that the idea was pretty appealing as long as it wasn’t an immediate thing. Not right now, but one day. After you’d finished school and had a job, having a baby then would be nice. Dave would be a good dad; you were sure of that. You had doubts about how good of a parent you would be, but you would sure as shit do your best.

“Do you want kids?” you asked. You probably should have had this conversation a while ago.

Dave shrugged the shoulder you weren’t leaning against, “Maybe. I like kids, but I don’t know if I’d be a good dad.”

You looked at him dubiously, “That’s ridiculous. You’d be an amazing dad. Why would you think you wouldn’t be?”

He shrugged again, “I just worry that the apple wouldn’t fall far from the tree, you know? And I came from a pretty rancid tree.”

“Oh, Dave,” you said, wrapping your arms around his waist and resting your chin on his shoulder. “You’re nothing like your dad. You’re so sweet and caring. You would never hurt a kid. You would never hurt _anyone._ I don’t have a doubt in my mind about that. The fact that you’re worried about it shows that you aren’t like him.”

“Hmm,” he hummed and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I don’t know about that, but I appreciate your confidence.”

“I’m completely confident,” you said, placing a hand on his cheek. “You’d be a great dad.”

“If you say so,” he said with a small smile, clearly humouring you. “Do you want kids?”

You thought about it for a moment. “I think so. Not right now of course, but one day, yeah.”

“You’d be a good parent,” Dave said. He looked at you with a little grin, “I wouldn’t mind having kids if it was with you.”

You blushed and looked away smiling. “I think it would be nice,” you said shyly, “having kids with you.”

“Yeah,” he said, “we’d make some pretty cute babies.”

“We would,” you said smiling.

“Cutest dang babies you ever did see.”

You cuddled into his side and wound your arms back around his waist. Thinking about your future with Dave made you feel so happy and full of love. All you wanted was to spend the rest of your life with him.

“I love you,” you sighed happily.

“I love you too,” he said, kissing the top of your head. “Always will.”


	16. Chapter 16

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you and Dave were walking on campus, hand in hand.

You were playfully arguing about whether or not tacos are sandwiches. You said they weren’t, he said they were. Neither of you were willing to concede.

You were heading towards a diner the two of you discovered that had decent food and was stupidly cheap. It had quickly become your go to lunch spot.

You were arguing about whether tortillas were bread when you heard “Dave!”

You looked towards the sound and saw Jade, Rose, and a guy you recognized from photos as John. Jade was skipping to you while John speed-walked and Rose continued at her natural pace.

Jade reached you first, “Hey you two!”

John showed up shortly after. “So, this must be Karkat! Dave talks about you constantly,” he said with a wide bucktoothed grin. He looked to Dave and said, “You know, it kinda sucks being the last person to meet your special friend.”

“’Special friend?’” Dave said with a raised brow, “What are you? Eighty years old?”

“Oh, shoosh,” John said before turning back to you. “It’s nice to meet you Karkat!” he said, extending a hand for a shake.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” you said awkwardly, taking his hand, “nice to meet you too.”

“So, what’re you guys up to?” Jade asked.

“Just heading out for lunch,” Dave said.

“So are we!” John said, “We should go together!”

“Sorry, John,” Rose said, startling you. You hadn’t even noticed her show up. “Dave and Karkat probably want to be alone. Couples usually do.”

Dave shrugged, “I mean, you guys can come along if your okay with watching Karkat and I suck face.”

“No thanks,” John said, looking grossed out.

“Yeah, I’ll pass,” Jade said.

Dave shrugged again, “Your loss.”

“Well, we’re going to the library after lunch if you feel like finding us later,” Rose said.

“’Kay, cool,” Dave said. “Oh! Before you go; is a taco a sandwich?”

“What? No way!” John exclaimed.

“Maybe,” Jade said with a shrug.

“An interesting question,” Rose said. “I suppose it depends on your definition of bread. If a tortilla counts as bread, then yes. And I do believe tortillas are a type of flat bread.”

“Ha!” Dave exclaimed, “In your face Karkat! Davey wins!”

“Excuse the fuck out of you,” you said, “That didn’t prove anything! John said it’s not, Jade said ‘maybe’, and Rose said it is. That means there’s two for ‘sandwich’, two for ‘not a sandwich’, and one undecided. It’s a tie! You didn’t win shit!”

“But tortillas are a flat bread!” Dave countered.

“Rose said she _thinks_ it’s a flat bread! It’s not confirmed!”

“It’s a flat bread,” Rose said, looking at her phone.

“Ha!” Dave said again.

“Fine, whatever,” you said, crossing your arms with a pout.

Dave laughed and draped an arm around your shoulder, planting a kiss to the top of your head. “Aw, love. How about I buy you lunch to help sooth the bitter pain of defeat? You want tacos?”

“You’re an ass,” you grumbled.

“As cute as this exchange is, we should probably go,” Rose said flatly.

Dave stuck his tongue out at her before saying, “See you guys.”

You arrived at the diner after a short walk and sat on the same side of a booth near the back. You sat in the same spot every time you came. You didn’t know why, you just liked it.

You ordered your regulars; a burger and fries with no onions for Dave and a chicken club for you.

You sat and ate while snuggled up to Dave, his arm around your shoulders and his head resting against yours. You wished you didn’t have to go back to class. You would have gladly spent the rest of the day like that. You were so warm and comfortable. Fuck, you loved him.

“Is cereal a soup?” Dave asked, breaking you out of your sappy thoughts.

“We’re not doing this again, Dave.”

“Is a bucket just a big cup?”

“Stoooop.”

“Was the dress black and blue or white and gold?”

“Dave.”

“Laurel or yanny?”

“Dave.”

“Does free will exist or is it just an illusion?”

“Daaaaave.”

“What’s the meaning of life?”

“Oh, my god Dave. And here I was thinking about how much I love you and how I wished I could spend all day with you like this. What a fool I was. I should have known I could never know peace in your presence.”

“I know right,” Dave said. “You’ve known me how long?”

“Long enough.”

Dave gave you a squeeze and kissed your forehead and that was all it took to make you melt back into him. You drew up your legs, curling into a ball, and leaned fully into him.

“Really, though,” he said, “ _is_ cereal a soup?”

You sighed, “I guess?”

“Hmm,” he hummed, “weird.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” you said, “If you don’t ask anymore ridiculous philosophical questions- if you can even call them that- for the rest of the day, then I’ll give you a reward after class.”

“Oh?” he said, “What kind of reward?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” you said, “I got something in the mail yesterday.”

“Interesting,” he mused. “It could be many things. There’s one thing in particular I suspect it might be, but I think I’ll leave it a surprise.”

“Sure,” you said with a shrug. “A surprise it is.”

“I do have one question though,” he said.

“Is it philosophical?” you asked.

“Nope, just a normal question.”

“Proceed.”

“Is it a sex thing?” he asked.

“Maybe,” you said.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Dave said with a chuckle in his voice. “Okay, I’ll be a good boy. No more hypotheticals- or whatever they are.”

“Good,” you said, nuzzling into his side.

Dave picked you up after class with a grin. The entire drive to your place was filled with Dave’s excited chattering. He was rambling about whatever crossed his mind. From what he learned in class to a detailed description of a cute bird he saw to this new song he heard that you just _had_ to listen to. You in turn spent the drive watching him with an endeared smile on your face.

As soon as you entered your apartment Dave backed you up against your front door, kissing you passionately. You wrapped your arms around his neck and hummed against his lips happily, kissing him back with just as much enthusiasm. Dave’s lips left yours and landed on your neck, sucking hickies into it. Between each one he would give the new bruise a little kiss before moving on.

“I’m so fucking stoked,” he mumbled into your neck.

You chuckled breathily and said, “I can tell.”

You removed one hand from its place on his shoulder and slid it down to start palming at his already hard dick. He moaned against your skin and pushed his crotch into your hand. He grabbed your hips and pulled them against his, grinding into your palm.

He lifted his face from your neck and crashed his lips back into yours, kissing you open mouthed and desperate. He licked and nipped at you, unable to stay still for even a moment.

You took your hand off of his crotch just long enough to slip in into his pants and start jacking him off in earnest.

He moaned even louder than before and dropped his face back into the crook of your neck, gently biting down on your shoulder. His hips twitched greedily into your hand, trying to encourage you to go faster. You maintained your languid pace though, wanting to tease him a little. He whined and gasped against your shoulder and you decided to move things along, you didn’t want him to come before you could even get to the main event.

You removed your hand from him, and he whined petulantly before you took his hand in yours and dragged him into your room, his dick still out. As soon as your door was closed, he pulled you onto your bed with him, wanting to pick up where you left off.

While Dave kissed your neck and ground against you, you reached into your bedside drawer with one hand and pulled out Dave’s reward. 

“Oh, fuck yeah,” he said when he spotted it. “I was right.”

You tilted your hips, encouraging Dave to roll onto his back. He flipped over willingly, and you brought everything else you needed out of your drawer: a strap-on harness, a dildo, and a bottle of lube.

Dave eyed them with lust and pulled off his shirt, quickly followed by the rest of his clothes, including his shades. You followed suit and got naked too.

“I’ve never done this before…” you said nervously, picking up the harness.

“Considering I’m the only person you’ve ever slept with and we’ve never done this before I’m not surprised,” Dave said.

You rolled your eyes and set up the harness. You got one that just looked like a pair of briefs because it was the least intimidating one you saw. You slipped it on and laughed.

“Is this what it’s like to have a dick?” you asked. “I feel ridiculous.”

Dave smiled and shrugged, “I guess.”

You stood up and laughed again. I was even funnier to you in motion. You grabbed a towel from your hamper and folded it in half.

“Up,” you said, gesturing to Dave.

He obediently lifted his hips, and you laid the towel out underneath him.

You climbed back onto the bed and sat between Dave’s slightly spread legs.

“Guess we’ll start here,” you mumbled, grabbing the bottle of lube.

Dave’s eyes followed you intently as you opened the bottle and squirted some lube onto your fingers. You lifted one of Dave’s legs with your clean hand, so his knee was bent and gave it a light kiss. He smiled at you momentarily before his expression fell back into one of lust.

You nervously pressed your lubed-up fingers against Dave and rubbed them in a circular motion. You had no idea what you were doing so you figured you would just do to him what felt nice to you. You continued to just gently stroke your fingers against him, too nervous to do anything else.

“It’s okay, love,” Dave said through his heavy breathing, “you can do more than that. Just take it slow.”

You planted another kiss to his knee as you slowly pushed just the tip of one of your fingers inside him.

Dave’s eyes squeezed shut and he gasped, his muscles tensed.

“Sorry!” You said anxiously.

“No, no” he said, panting, “it’s okay, it’s good. Keep going.”

You rubbed a soothing hand along his thigh, more for your sake than his, and pushed your finger a little further inside.

Dave’s mouth fell open and he moaned. Oh, wow. He really likes this.

Encouraged by Dave’s reactions you pulled your finger halfway out of him and poured a little more lube onto it before plunging it back inside.

Dave’s other leg pulled up and he threw an arm over his eyes, gasping.

You continued to pump your finger in and out of him for a while until Dave’s reactions started to mellow out. You experimentally crooked your finger up the way Dave did when he fingered you and his back arched off the bed and he moaned even louder than before. Excited to have gotten that kind of reaction out of him you did it again and he moaned out a loud, “Oh, fuck, Kat!”

Dave’s hand went to his dick and he started stroking it in time with you stroking him.

Between gasps and moans he sighed, “More.”

You pulled your finger almost entirely out of him and poured more lube over it and a second finger. You gently pushed them both inside him and he whined, pushing his hips back against you to force you deeper.

You picked up crooking your fingers up against him again and he threw his head back with a sob. He was crying out with every breath and his legs began to shake. It looked like he was about to come, but you were going to keep going for as long as he wanted you to.

“Fuck!” he cried. “Stop, stop, stop,” he said breathlessly.

You stopped immediately, afraid you fucked up. “Are you okay?” you asked, slightly panicked.

“I need you,” he sighed, “I need more. I don’t want to come until you fuck me.”

You smiled, relieved, and slowly pulled your fingers out of him. He gasped when he was empty again and spread his legs even wider for you. 

You poured lubed directly onto him, apologizing when he jumped from the cold, and covered the dildo completely.

You lined yourself up with him and gently pushed against him. Impatient, Dave reached down and grabbed the dildo himself and pushed it against him harder, forcing it into himself. His back arched again, and he moaned loudly and pushed his hips back against you, taking the dildo into him fully.

Once your hips were against his ass he stopped and took a moment to pant and whine, letting himself adjust.

“Okay,” he sighed, patting your thigh.

You awkwardly pulled your hips back and pushed them forward again. You didn’t know how to do this, you almost felt like a virgin again. If Dave’s reactions were anything to go by though you were doing just fine.

Stamping down your doubt you continued to slowly thrust into him, not wanting to hurt him. Dave wrapped his hand back around his dick and started pumping it at a brutal pace.

“Faster,” he whined.

Not wanting to disappoint, you started pushing into him as fast as you could- which wasn’t very fast given your inexperience. Dave wasn’t complaining though, on the contrary, he looked like he was loving every second.

His head was thrown back and his back was arching off the bed. His eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth was hanging open in a silent scream. His legs were starting to shake again, and you knew he was close.

Wanting to go out with a bang you grabbed his thighs and used them as leverage to pull yourself into him faster. Your abs and legs were going to be sore as hell tomorrow you but didn’t care. All that mattered was making Dave feel as good as possible.

It only took a few more seconds at your fast new pace before Dave was crying out as he came. His cum poured all over his hand as he continued to stroke himself through his orgasm. His entire body was trembling, and tears were slipping out of his eyes at the intensity of it all.

You slowed down and gently came to a halt. You wanted to lean forward and kiss him, but you didn’t want to move too much. After an orgasm like that Dave was probably overstimulated as fuck.

Since Dave had come and you had a moment to breathe your own arousal came to the forefront of your mind. You were so fucking horny. You were so wet you could feel it soaking into the towel below you. All you wanted was to jump Dave’s bones, but there was no way he’d be up for that anytime soon.

“I feel… like… I just… ran… a marathon,” he panted. “Holy shit.”

You carefully reached forward and placed a hand on his cheek. “You good?” you asked, pretty winded yourself.

“Fuck, dude,” he said, “I’m fucking great.”

“Good,” you said with a smile.

“How are you?” he asked breathlessly.

“Oh, you know,” you said with a shrug, “extremely horny.”

“Sorry about that, love,” he said, placing a hand over the one you had on his cheek. “Give me a second and I’ll take care of that.”

You gave Dave a moment to come down and once his breathing evened out, he said, “You can pull out now. Just go slow.”

You slowly leaned back, sliding the dildo out of him.

Dave gasped when it slipped completely out of him. “Fuck that feels weird.”

“You good?” you asked him again.

“Yeah,” he said. He stretched out his arms and made grabby hands at you, “C’mere.”

You slipped out of the harness and climbed on top of Dave, slotting one leg between his. You laid down on his chest and tucked your face into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around you and trailed his fingers up and down your back.

As nice as it was, you were still unbearably horny. You couldn’t keep you hips from rocking forward slightly, desperate to get any friction you could. You didn’t want to push Dave before he was ready, but you _really_ needed some relief. You turned your face and pressed little kisses against Dave’s neck, hoping to lull Dave back into a state of arousal.

“I know, love,” Dave cooed, “I’ve got you.”

He slid his hands down to your ass and gently pulled you forward. Taking the hint, you straddled his hips and crawled up his body. You stopped when Dave’s head was between your legs. He wrapped his arms around your thighs and pulled you down until your crotch met his face.

You rested your arms on your headboard to hold yourself up, not wanted to put your full weight on Dave’s face. He swiped his tongue up your slit before sucking your clit into his mouth and you gasped. After being horny for so long with no relief even the lightest touch felt incredible.

Dave pulled off of your clit and shallowly dipped his tongue inside you. He licked up into you and nipped at your lips.

You were struggling to hold yourself up, your legs already starting to feel weak.

Dave tugged your thighs down and looked up at your from between your legs with a raised brow. He patted your thighs and nodded against you. Taking the hint, you lowered yourself a little more, letting Dave’s face hold your entire weight.

Dave moaned and ate you out with more enthusiasm, his eyes squeezed shut and his hands roaming over your thighs.

Your head fell back with a moan. Fuck, he was good at that. Your hips twitched forward without your consent, grinding your crotch against Dave face. It felt so good that you stopped trying to hold yourself back, rocking your hips harder.

Wanting better leverage, you leaned back and held yourself up with a palm on Dave’s stomach. You spread your legs wider, desperate for more contact with Dave. You turned your head to look behind you, checking to see if Dave was hard yet.

You were so excited to see that he was you pulled yourself off Dave’s face with no warning. You shuffled back on your knees until you were hovering over his dick. You grabbed it and lined yourself up before dropping down onto it in one fell swoop.

You moaned in relief and Dave gasped in surprise.

Without even giving yourself- or Dave- a moment to adjust you started grinding against him desperately. You were too turned on for rational thought or self control.

“Fuck, Kat,” Dave moaned, “what about a condom?”

“Don’t care,” you gasped.

You rode him hard and fast with your palms against his chest. It felt _so good,_ but you were too far gone to think about making it last. You wanted to come _immediately._

Dave was panting open mouthed with his hands gripping you ass hard enough to bruise. He was so fucking hot during sex. You loved how expressive and desperate he became.

You leaned forward, pressed your chest to his, and kissed him sloppily. You moaned into his mouth and he moaned into yours. You could barely kiss him. Your mouth just hung open in bliss, pressed against his.

You could feel yourself getting close and started rolling your hips as fast as you could. You were crying out with every movement, but you wanted more. You sat back up, driving Dave’s dick deeper inside of you and that was what finally pushed you over the edge.

You threw your head back and screamed. You felt so fucking good your mouth pulled into a smile and your scream turned into a relieved laugh.

When you finally came down from your high you realized that Dave hadn’t come so you pulled yourself off of him and scooted down so you were kneeling between his legs. Feeling bold you decided to try something you never had before.

You wrapped one hand around Dave’s cock and lowered your mouth to it. You had always been too nervous and self conscious to try blowing him, but you felt too good from your orgasm to doubt yourself.

“Holy, shit,” Dave sighed, looking down at you. He held himself up on his elbows and watched you take his dick into your mouth with heavily lidded eyes.

It didn’t taste very good, but you ignored it. You took as much of him into your mouth as you could. You bobbed your head, relying on instinct to tell you what to do. Based on the sounds you were wringing out of him your instincts knew what was up.

You hollowed your cheeks and pulled up until his dick was no longer in your mouth. Spotting a bead of precum welling at the tip you looked Dave in the eye and slowly licked it off.

His head fell back, and he moaned. “Fuck, Kat, you’re so fucking sexy.”

Preening at his compliment you took his dick back into your mouth, sucking on the head. You gripped the base of his dick with one hand and pumped it while you laved attention on the head.

“Oh fuck, Kat,” he moaned, “I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come-“

He cut himself off with a moan and you wrapped your lips back around him while he came, feeling his cum coat your tongue.

“Jesus Christ,” he said, looking down at you. “You are so fucking hot.”

You pulled off his dick and smiled. Wanting to earn another compliment, you swallowed his cum and stuck your tongue out to show him.

“ _Fuck,”_ he said before reaching forward and pulling you against his chest, wrapping his arms around you tightly. “You turn me on so much it hurts sometimes, you know that?” he said, nuzzling his face into the side of yours.

You smiled again and snuggled into him. “Good.”

He laughed and pressed a wet kiss to your cheek. You giggled and hid your face in the crook of his neck.

“I love you so much,” he mumbled.

You smiled. “I love you too.”

“God, you make me happy,” he said.

You lifted your face you gave him a gentle kiss, “You make me happy too.”

He smiled and cupped your face, rubbing a thumb against your cheek. “I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.”

You knew you wouldn’t be able to speak without your voice wobbling, so you answered him with another kiss instead.

Dave returned it happily and you melted into him.

There was nothing you wanted more than to spend the rest of your life with Dave. If you could have that, no matter what else happened, you’d be happy.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the last one my dudes.

Your name is Karkat Vantas and your first year of college came to a close with you still being the happiest you had ever been.

You hadn’t expected things to go so well for so long. Part of you was convinced that by the end of the school year your friends would have ditched you and Dave would have come to his senses and dumped you. But they hadn’t. You had even more friends than before. You had started hanging out with Dave’s siblings and his friend group merged with yours.

And your relationship with Dave just got better everyday. You always thought it would be impossible to love him any more than you already did, but you were constantly being proven wrong. Your heart felt like it was going to burst every time you saw him. 

Between shifts at the bookstore you somehow managed to get job at you would meet up with him for however long you had. Sometimes it would just be to get lunch together, other times you would spend entire days at each other’s place. Any day spent with Dave was a good day.

The night of your twentieth birthday Dave showed up at your apartment with a surprise for you. “Come on,” he said, “it’ll be fun, trust me.”

You let him lead you out to his piece of shit truck, the bed of which was covered with a tarp. He opened the door for you and held your hand as you climbed in. He walked around to the driver’s side and got in in with a smile.

He wouldn’t tell you were you were going; it was a surprise, he insisted. You looked out the window as he drove, occasionally making guesses as to where you were going. He said “Nope,” to every one. You gave up quickly, having run out of guesses. Instead, you enjoyed watching the scenery as it changed from city to town to forest.

You had absolutely no idea where you were going but Dave insisted he had a plan so you went with it. You asked if it was one of the things he had planned to ‘woo’ you. He said “Maybe.” You were excited to see what he had come up with.

After over an hour of driving Dave pulled off the main road and followed a dirt path into the trees. The path ended in a clearing, surrounded on all sides by trees.

“I found this place while scavenging for carcasses,” he said.

“Lovely,” you replied sarcastically.

He gave you a little smile and parked in the center of the clearing. “Come on,” he said, hopping out of the car.

“Where are we going?” you asked climbing out of the car after him.

“Right here,” he said, stopping beside the truck.

He untied the tarp covering the truck bed and pulled it off before folding it up and shoving it in the back of the cab. In the bed of the truck was an inflated air mattress, blankets, and a pile of pillows.

“A movie marathon under the stars,” he said with a grin, looking proud of himself.

“As incredibly romantic as this is, we’re going to get eaten alive by mosquitoes out here,” you said.

Dave’s grin widened. “I already thought of that,” he said, reaching into the truck bed. He pulled out what looked like a large white sheet, “Mosquito netting.”

You had to admit you were impressed. “You really had thought this through.”

“Course,” he said. “Only the best for you, my love. I know how much you like this shit, so I went all out.”

He pulled himself into the truck bed and grabbed a roll of duct tape from inside. He taped one edge of the netting to the roof of the truck and pulled out two wood boards, taping them to the opposite end of the truck. He then draped the netting over them, using them like tent posts. The bed of the truck was covered by the netting, almost like a blanket fort.

“Tada,” he said proudly.

“Okay, cool,” you said. “How do I get in?”

“Oh, right,” he said, pulling the netting back off the wooden beams.

He hopped back to the ground and linked his fingers together, making a foot hold for you. You held onto his shoulders and stepped into his offered hands. He lifted you up effortlessly and you managed to awkwardly scramble into the truck bed.

Dave laughed at your flailing before walking back to the cab. Out of it he pulled a grocery bag full of junk food, his laptop, and a stack of DVDs. He placed them all next to you before hopping back into the truck bed. He pulled the netting back into position and flopped back on the air mattress.

You arranged the pillows and pulled a blanket around you while Dave set up his laptop.

“Pick a movie,” he said. “Birthday dude’s choice.”

You smiled and pulled the stack of DVDs over to you. Shuffling through them you found all of your favourites: When Harry Met Sally, 10 Thing I Hate About You, The Notebook, 13 Going On 30, You’ve Got Mail, Pretty Woman. They were all there.

It was such a silly little thing, but it made tears rise to your eyes. You finally got what people were always talking about when they said it was the little things in relationships. It was such a little thing, but it meant so much to you.

Dave turned to you and must have seen the tears in your eyes because his face fell and he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you said, wiping your eyes. “I just really fucking love you.”

Dave’s smile returned. “I really fucking love you too,” he said. “Have you chosen one?”

“Not yet,” you said. “I was too busy being a fucking sap.”

You grabbed a movie at random, knowing you’d like whichever one you picked, and handed it to Dave.

“10 Things I Hate About You,” he said, “an excellent choice. I actually like this one.” He put the movie in and snuggled up to you with the laptop resting on his stomach.

You pulled the bag of junk food over to you and checked out Dave’s selection. Once again, Dave brought all of your favourites. There were Kitkats and Swedish Berries, BBQ chips and Dr.Pepper.

“God,” you said, “you’re too good to me.”

“Not possible,” he said. “You deserve the world, my love.”

You blushed and hid your face in his neck. You had no idea how you got so lucky. You must have been a fucking saint in a past life to have gotten to love Dave.

You stayed curled around each other, wrapped up in blankets and eating literal garbage while the movie played. For once neither of you spoke, content to just enjoy each other’s company.

After the movie ended the two of you didn’t move to put another one on, you just laid on your backs side by side, looking at the stars. There weren’t many, even outside the city, but it was still beautiful.

You rambled to each other, hopping from topic to topic without any coherent pattern. You would flip flop back and forth between making each other laugh until you couldn’t breathe and deep introspective discussions. If you could have lived in that moment forever you would have.

During a lull in one of your conversations Dave broke the comfortable silence by rifling around in his hoodie pocket, pulling something out and holding it up above you. You recognized it as a ring, specifically the ring you pointed out to him in Houston, and your heart stopped.

“When did you get that?” you asked in a whisper.

“I went back for it when we were in Houston,” he said, just as quietly.

“You’ve been holding onto it for six months?”

“Yep,” he said, “I knew I wanted to marry you, even back then, but I wanted to wait for the right time. And here it is.”

Dave sat up and turned to you, kneeling on one knee with the ring held between his thumb and forefinger.

“Karkat,” he said, taking off his shades.

“Oh, fuck,” you said, sitting up and covering you mouth as tears sprang to your eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about how I wanted to do this since we were eight, and now that it’s happening, I have no idea what to say. I guess I’ll go with genuine sincerity and spilling my guts.

“I know we haven’t been together for very long, but I’ve wanted to marry you for the past twelve years. I’ve loved you for more than half my life, and if you’ll let me, I’ll love you for the rest of it too. You’re the first thing I want to see in the morning and the last thing I want to see at night. You’re the peanut butter to my jelly, the milk to my cookies, the mac to my cheese, and I couldn’t live without you. So, Karkat Vantas, love of my life, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” You said, throwing yourself at him.

Your face was covered in tears and you were getting Dave soaked, but you didn’t care. You kissed every square inch of his face you could reach and wrapped your arms around him as tightly as you could. Dave laughed and held you just as tightly.

When you finally calmed down enough to pulled back and look at him you saw that Dave had tears in his eyes too and was wearing the biggest smile you had ever seen on him. You laughed out of pure joy and pressed another kiss to his smiling lips.

You released him with your left hand and held it out to him. He smiled and took it in one of his before sliding the ring onto your finger with the other.

“We’re doing this?” he asked with a wide smile.

“We’re making this happen,” you replied with a smile just as wide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done! Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who left a comment, they always made my day. :)


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